Ride-hailing app Go soared on its debut day of trading, marking Japan's largest IPO of the year.

On Tuesday, the stock of the ride-hailing app Go Inc. surged on its first day of trading in Tokyo, marking Japan's largest initial public offering so far this year. This highlights the strong demand for newly listed stocks as the domestic stock market continues to rise in Japan. Go raised 88.6 billion yen in its IPO. During early trading, the stock rose as much as 23% from its issue price of 2,400 yen, before giving back some of the gains. After the midday break, the stock was up 8.8%. The taxi company received support from investment vehicles affiliated with Goldman Sachs and Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo. The company said that BlackRock, Wellington Management Company, and M&G Investment Management have committed to subscribing to shares at the issue price. Go plans to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund research and development for its autonomous taxi business, and to support expansion plans, including mergers and acquisitions within and outside the taxi and ride-hailing industry. Founded in 1977 as a taxi operator, Go has since grown to become the largest taxi-hailing app in Japan.