Retail investors have rushed to subscribe to Tencent-backed artificial intelligence (AI) drug researcher QuantumPharm on the first day of its HK$1.13 billion (US$144.5 million) initial public offering, encouraged to bet on the technology start-up by recent market rallies and listing reforms.

Several large local brokerages told the Post they have received a strong response from investors, with some expecting the retail tranches to be oversubscribed by about 10 times on day one. Futu Securities estimated total first-day margin lending reached HK$520 million, including HK$321 million worth of subscriptions it received.