TOKYO, Oct 23 Reuters Tokyo Metro39;s shares shot up 44 in their market debut on Wednesday after Japan39;s largest initial public offering in six years bagged it 2.3 billion with promises of generous dividends.

The stock39;s price was 1,722 yen 11.35 at the midday trading break giving Tokyo Metro, one of the capital39;s two major subway operators, a valuation of roughly 1 trillion yen.

The company raised 348.6 billion yen in an IPO that was more than 15 times oversubscribed and priced at the top of an indicative range at 1,200 yen apiece.

It39;s a wellknown, well respected and stable business which offered a decently high dividend yield at IPO and excitement around that is reflected in the first day of trading, said Travis Lundy, a special situations analyst who publishes on Smartkarma.

Tokyo Metro forecasts a dividend of 40 yen per share for the financial year ending March 2025 and also offers perks to shareholders such as toppings at its noodle eateries.

While at the IPO price Tokyo Metro39;s dividend yield was 3.3, at 1,722 yen the yield is a more modest 2.3, comparable to peer Kyushu Railway.

There was a large increase in the opening of brokerage accounts targeting the IPO, said senior market analyst Tomoichiro Kubota at Matsui Securities.

The company39;s history dates back to 1920 with the establishment of the Tokyo Underground Railway Company. Seven years later, it opened Japan39;s first subway line, between the Asakusa and Ueno districts of Tokyo.

Tokyo…