High-speed rail operator's shares zoom by 43.24%

Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway Co Ltd, the operator of the high-speed railway linking the two most developed cities of China, saw its shares rising by 43.24 percent to 6.99 yuan ($1.02) on debut before closing at 6.77 yuan on Thursday, up 38.73 percent from its initial public offer price of 4.88 yuan.

The strong debut signaled investors' confidence in the State-owned railway operator, as it owns China's most lucrative high-speed rail network, and has been deepening reforms to enhance performance and operation efficiency, analysts said.

MSCI Inc, the world's largest index provider, said on Thursday that it would include the company's shares in two of the indexes for China's stocks, starting Feb 6.