(Yicai Global) June 30 -- Dingdong Maicai, a Chinese online grocery platform, finished its first day on the New York Stock Exchange nearly unchanged after a downsized share sale, following its newly listed rival MissFresh's lackluster performance.

Dingdong Maicai's stock price [NYSE: DDL] was 0.1 percent up at USD23.52 at the close yesterday. The shares had opened at USD28, up 19.1 percent.

The issuance scale was reduced to 3.7 million American depository shares, a bit more than a quarter of Dingdong Maicai's earlier estimate, the Shanghai-based firm said in its prospectus on June 28. The company raised USD94.4 million by pricing its shares at USD23.50, the lower end of its range.

Bad Timing

The grocery app probably reduced its initial public offering scale because fewer-than-expected investors subscribed to the shares after MissFresh’s stock price dropped after its listing, according to industry insiders.

Competitor MissFresh has been having a rough time after its listing. By now, the Qingdao-based platform's stock price [NASDAQ: MF] has fallen more than 30 percent from its IPO price of USD13. The shares dived by more than a quarter on June 25, its first trading day.

Deepening Losses

Founded in May 2017, Dingdong Maicai offers food delivery services in 29 Chinese cities. But the business model it shares with MissFresh is pricey. Dingdong Maicai's net loss jumped almost six times to CNY1.4 billion (USD216.8 million) in the first quarter from a year ago.

MissFresh widened its losses slower than Dingdong Maicai in the first quarter. MissFresh reported a CNY610 million (USD94.5 million) net loss in the three months ended March, more than tripled from a year ago, according to its prospectus.

The fresh money will be used for expansion. Dingdong Maicai will invest half of the IPO proceeds to widen its user base and to discover new markets, according to its prospectus. Some 30 percent of the total should go into upstream procurement. About 10 percent should be used for technology and supply chain upgrades.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi