By PRUDENCE HO
HONG KONG?China Galaxy Securities Co., a brokerage that raised more than a billion dollars in Hong Kong's biggest initial public offering this year, staged a buoyant trading debut Wednesday, further raising hopes for a pickup in the city's sluggish IPO market.
China Galaxy's offering, which raised US$1.07 billion, is the first deal to cross the billion-dollar mark this year in Hong Kong, once the world's top IPO venue. Shares of the brokerage firm, China's sixth-largest by revenue, closed at 5.62 Hong Kong dollars (72 U.S. cents), up 6% from their IPO price of HK$5.30. The issue's success follows strong demand for other recent IPOs in the city.
Shares of Sinopec Engineering (Group) Co., the engineering arm of oil giant China Petrochemical Corp., are scheduled to begin trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange Thursday. Sinopec Engineering's US$1.8 billion IPO is the biggest since People's Insurance Co. (Group) of China Ltd. raised US$3.6 billion in a December IPO.
Sinopec Engineering shares are already being sold in the gray market, which allows investors who missed out on the IPO to buy before trading on the stock exchange begins. Early evening Wednesday, Sinopec Engineering was trading at HK$11.08 in the gray market, higher than its IPO price of HK$10.50, according to PhillipMart, a Hong Kong trading firm. Sinopec Engineering shares valued at HK$54.2 million changed hands Wednesday, PhillipMart said.
Other companies that are slated to start trading on the Hong Kong market in coming weeks are Langham Hospitality Investments Ltd., a trust listing of Langham's hotels in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong conglomerate Hopewell Holdings Ltd.'s Hopewell Hong Kong Properties Ltd., which is listing several buildings in the city.
Hong Kong, which was the top venue for IPOs globally from 2009 to 2011, raised a record US$67.9 billion in 2010. It is in the fourth place globally this year with US$3.9 billion, according to Dealogic.
"Investors' risk appetite for IPOs has been improving amid ample liquidity, but it still takes time to go back to the 2010 peak," said Ben Kwong, an analyst at broker KGI Asia.
China Galaxy shares rose as much as 11.3% intraday before pulling back. Trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange didn't start until the afternoon; the morning session was canceled due to a warning of a severe rainstorm.
The rainstorm also forced Langham Hospitality Investments, which is backed by Hong Kong tycoon Lo Ka Shui, to extend the sale of its IPO to the Hong Kong public and institutional investors to Thursday from Wednesday. The company, which could raise up to US$588 million, is scheduled to list May 30.
?Yvonne Lee and Robert Li contributed to this article.Write to Prudence Ho at prudence.ho@wsj.com
matt lauer albert pujols the shining mariano rivera mariano rivera jobs report tiger woods masters 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.