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Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, hits a gong at the listing ceremony of Xiaomi in Hong Kong, south China, July 9, 2018. Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Monday, the first company which adopts a weighted voting rights with dual-class shares after Hong Kong's major listing regime reform in 25 years. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

HONG KONG, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Monday, the first company which adopts a weighted voting rights with dual-class shares after Hong Kong's major listing regime reform in 25 years.

"We would like to thank the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission," Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, said at the listing ceremony.

"We are an internet company and from Day 1 we have set up a weighted voting rights structure with dual-class shares," he added.

Lei said without the innovation of the Hong Kong capital markets, it would be difficult for Xiaomi to be listed in Hong Kong. He believed more high-quality internet companies would come to Hong Kong for listing in the future.

Xiaomi offered about 2.18 billion shares priced at 17 HK dollars each (2.17 U.S. dollars). Its stocks opened at 16.60 HK dollars (2.11 U.S. dollars) per share on Monday.

Xiaomi is an internet company with smartphones and smart hardware connected by an IoT platform at its core.