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Chinese e-cigarette maker RLX Technology Inc.<\/a> has priced its U.S. initial public offering above a marketed range at $12 a share, according to a person familiar with the information and asked not to be identified because it wasn\u2019t public yet.<\/p>\n RLX Technology will raise $1.4 billion based on the 116.5 million American depositary shares it had marketed. The company, backed by Sequoia Capital China<\/a>, had targeted a share price or $8 to $10 each.<\/p>\n A representative for the company didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The IPO is being led by Citigroup Inc.<\/a> and China Renaissance Holdings Ltd<\/a>. The company\u2019s ADS, each representing one ordinary share, are expected to begin trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RLX.<\/p>\n The pricing of the IPO was reported earlier by GlobalCapital.<\/p>\n The IPO, the first major U.S. listing this year by a China-based company, signals continuing investor demand, even as deteriorating U.S.-China relations saw the NYSE earlier this month delist<\/a> three Chinese telecommunications firms blacklisted in December in an executive order by then-U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n Read More: Behind the NYSE\u2019s Swerves on Delisting China Stocks: QuickTake<\/a><\/p>\n The sparring between Washington and Beijing is set to broadly limit Chinese companies\u2019 access to U.S. capital markets, after President Trump signed<\/a> a law last year that could lead to them being kicked off U.S. exchanges if American regulators can\u2019t vet their audit papers.<\/p>\n Still, the long-trailed moves appeared to have little discernible effect on Chinese companies\u2019 thirst for U.S. capital.<\/p>\n Almost $15 billion was raised by Chinese IPOs on U.S. exchanges in 2020, the second-most on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Many of those deals were either increased in size or priced above their marketed ranges following overwhelming demand from investors.<\/p>\n RLX, founded in 2018, is China\u2019s largest e-cigarette maker with 62.6% of the country\u2019s market, according to a report by China Insights Consultancy cited in the company\u2019s IPO prospectus<\/a>.<\/p>\n Known for its RELX-branded devices, the company\u2019s products are available in at least 13 countries including Canada, the U.K., Indonesia, New Zealand and South Korea, its website<\/a> shows.<\/p>\n The vaping industry has boomed in China even as the country banned online sales of e-cigarettes just over a year ago. China has joined other countries globally in putting pressure on vaping amid concerns about its potential health effects.<\/p>\n China is the world\u2019s largest potential vaping market, with an estimated 286.7 million adult smokers in 2019, RLX said in its prospectus. But vaping products only have a 1.2% penetration rate, compared with 32.4% in the U.S.<\/p>\n