eLong.com's (NasdaqNM:LONG) long road to the public finally ended yesterday as the company saw good trading on its NASDAQ debut. The Chinese Internet company's American Depositary Receipts, which were priced at $13.50, settled at $14.40 by the end of the day.
Yesterday most Chinese Internet stocks saw short drops as the market hiccuped due to both a small rate hike announced by the Chinese central bank and a re-adjustment after the previous day's high stock climbs. But eLong managed to push off poor investor sentiment to take a good first day look at the market.
Though its stock is slated to do well, the company's long-term position is still cloudy, as many competitors still crowd the bustling China travel space. A key competitor, CTrip.com, already has near-identical online and offline business models. Plus, with few legal ways to discount airline tickets in China, the barriers to entry are low.