CRRC hits the track running as stock breaks daily limit

A CRH (China Railway High-Speed) train is seen at a maintenance station for an overall system examination in Urumqi, capital of?Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, June 3, 2014. [Photo/IC]

CRRC Corp, the rail equipment manufacturing behemoth formed after the merger of China North Railway and China South Railway, jumped to a halt on its first trading day at the Shanghai bourse.

The company surged by the daily limit of 10 percent to 32.4 yuan in Shanghai, while its H-shares gained 6.1 percent as of 10:30 am.

The listing will serve as a starting point for the CRRC to deepen its technology innovation and build world leadership, said Cui Dianguo, chairman of the CRRC.

The stock began trading in Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges on Monday under CSR’s tickers after a lengthy trading suspension.

The CNR and the CSR rallied nearly 3.65 and 4.08 times after the merging announcement on Dec 31 last year and was suspended from trading since May 7.

The CNR’s stocks were delisted as scheduled from the both markets and included into the CSR, whose stocks were renamed CRRC. The listing completes the merger between the country’s high-speed train maker giants.

According to the merger plan, the CRRC will focus on overseas industrial distribution and management.

Experts said that the merger will help the trainmakers become more competitive against rivals, including France-based Alstom SA, Canada-based Bombardier Inc and Germany-based Siemens AG.

According to CSR, nearly 20 countries, including the UK and Thailand, plan to build high-speed railways representing total investment exceeding $800 billion.