(Yicai Global) Aug. 14 -- KE Holdings, a Tencent-backed spinoff of Chinese housing agency Lianjia, jumped over 87 percent on its first trading day in one of the biggest US initial public offerings among Chinese firms in years.

After celebrating the opening bell in Beijing and New York via an internet connection, KE, [NYSE: BEKE] ended its first trading day at USD37.44. It had priced its shares at USD20 apiece. Its market cap reached USD42.2 billion.

The property app, also known as Beike Zhaofang, issued 106 million shares, raising about USD2.4 billion, based on Yicai Global's calculations. The Beijing-based firm predicted the sum to be between USD1.8 billion and USD2.1 billion in its prospectus published earlier this month.

Before this, Tencent's music streaming platform has been the only Chinese firm to raise more than USD1 billion in the US since December 2018.

Launched in April 2018, KE helps clients publish online listings and search for secondhand housing in hundreds of Chinese cities. Meanwhile, the nearly 20-year-old Lianjia focuses on offline demand.

Some familiar names and third-party investors have subscribed to USD800 million worth of shares, according to KE's prospectus. The group includes Tencent Holdings, Hillhouse Capital Group, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Investments, and its affiliate.

KE will use the funds toward research and development, digital infrastructure, diversified services, and new locations.

In the first half of this year, KE's net profit nearly tripled to CNY1.6 billion (USD230.3 million) from a year ago, based on its filing. Its revenue climbed 39 percent to CNY27.3 billion (USD3.9 billion). The total transaction volume rose 49 percent to CNY1.33 trillion (USD191.4 billion).

Editor: Emmi Laine