Cafe de Coral, in 1986, becomes first Hong Kong food chain to go public – SCMP archive

On this day 40 years ago, Cafe de Coral became the first Hong Kong restaurant group to list on the city’s stock exchange Fast-food counter Cafe de Coral hit the boards yesterday (July 16, 1986), trading up to $1.35 and recording the biggest volume of the day. Although 16.6 million Cafe de Coral shares traded, at a total value of $22.08 million, this was about all the excitement the market could muster, as it took a breather after some hectic activity on Monday and Tuesday. Another talking point was Yeo Hiap Seng, which ended the day 28 cents firmer at $1.68 after strong buying overnight in London on rumours of a takeover. The Hang Seng Index ended 0.75 points off at 1,763.38 and the Hongkong Index dipped 1.44 points to 1,100.07, while turnover slipped to $287.56 million from $312.2 million on Tuesday. In second-wave reaction to the news of Hongkong Land’s decision to sell off Dairy Farm, Land slid 10 cents to $5.95 in active trading, while Jardine Matheson rose 10 cents to $13.60 and Jardine Securities again rose sharply, to $13.50 from $13.10.

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