On July 16, 1986, Cafe de Coral made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, marking a historic milestone as the first restaurant group in the city to go public. The fast-food counter's shares traded up to $1.35, with 16.6 million shares changing hands at a total value of $22.08 million. This activity provided the day's main excitement in an otherwise quiet market that was taking a breather after two days of hectic trading. The Hang Seng Index ended 0.75 points lower at 1,763.38, while turnover slipped to $287.56 million from $312.2 million the previous day.