He left his teaching job to make adhesive tapes; now Crown New Materials' 787% IPO surge has made him a billionaire

Crown New Materials shares jumped sharply on their first day of trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on November 3. The Chinese maker of adhesive tapes and films rose as much as 787% from its IPO price, making it one of the most closely watched new listings in the market.

The company had set its issue price at CNY 16.98 per share. But the stock touched an intraday high of CNY 150.58. Early in the session, it was already trading near CNY 120, more than 600% above the issue price.

Mai Huiquan and his sister, Mai Huixia, have become the centre of attention after their company, Crown New Materials, saw its shares jump. But their business journey began long before the IPO. Huiquan, now the company's chairman and CEO, worked as an elementary school teacher in Zhongshan, China, from 1981 to 1984.


He left the job in December 1984 and entered the adhesive materials business the following month. His sister, Huixia, also had experience in the industry, having worked in sales and management roles at local manufacturing companies.

The two siblings established Crown New Materials in June 2000 with an initial registered capital of CNY 2 million. Over the years, they built the company into a supplier of adhesive materials and protective films used in electronics, automobiles and batteries.

According to its IPO prospectus, the siblings jointly controlled 87.17% of the company before its stock market listing.

Forbes estimated their fortunes at around $2.5 billion for Huiquan and $2 billion for Huixia following the share price surge.

How much could an investor have made from the Crown New Materials IPO?

The sharp rise meant that even a small IPO allotment showed a large paper gain during the session.

For example, an investor who received 500 shares at the issue price of CNY 16.98 would have paid CNY 8,490. At the day's high of CNY 150.58, those shares would have been worth CNY 75,290.

That represents a paper gain of CNY 66,800, or roughly NT$320,000. The gain would only become real if the investor sold the shares at that price.

At its intraday high, the share price was almost 8.9 times its IPO price. Such a large first-day move is unusual, even in China's A-share market.

Why did Crown New Materials shares rise so sharply?

The sharp opening move was driven by a combination of limited share supply and investor interest in the company's business.

Only a relatively small number of shares are available for trading when a company first lists. When demand is much higher than the number of shares available, the price can rise quickly.

Crown New Materials also operates in functional composite materials, which are used across several industries. Its products are linked to consumer electronics, electric vehicles, batteries and energy storage. These connections have helped attract investor attention to the business.

The company describes itself as a high-tech manufacturer of functional composite materials. Its main products include industrial-grade adhesive materials, electronic-grade adhesive materials and functional films.

Apple, Huawei, Tesla and BYD are among its named customers

Crown New Materials has listed several major companies among its customers. In consumer electronics, the names include Apple, Huawei, OPPO, vivo, Google and Amazon.

Its customers in the automobile and battery industries include Tesla, BYD, CATL, Gotion High-tech and CALB. The company also names appliance makers such as Gree and Galanz.

Crown New Materials has reported steady revenue growth over the past three years. Its operating revenue increased from CNY 2.895 billion in 2023 to CNY 3.159 billion in 2024. It reached CNY 3.408 billion in 2025.

Net profit attributable to the parent company also increased, but at a slower pace. It rose from CNY 278 million in 2023 to CNY 302 million in 2024 and CNY 309 million in 2025.

The latest figures show a gap between sales growth and profit growth. In the first half of 2026, revenue reached CNY 1.789 billion, up 12.35% from the same period last year. Net profit rose just 2.36% to CNY 159 million.

The company's forecast for the first three quarters points to similar pressure. It expects revenue of CNY 2.714 billion to CNY 2.754 billion, representing annual growth of 9.12% to 10.73%. Net profit is expected to range from CNY 225 million to CNY 244 million, which would be flat to 7.98% lower than a year earlier.

The first-day surge has put Crown New Materials in the spotlight, but its next challenge is to support that market interest with business performance.

Investors will watch whether the company can maintain demand from electronics, electric vehicle and battery customers. They will also look for signs that pricing and cost pressures are easing.