China's IPOs lose luster as demand shrinks

[dArKeR]

BLOOMBERG
Saturday, Apr 03, 2004,Page 12

Chinese initial public offerings, last year's most sought-after shares, are losing their luster.

Three Chinese IPOs in the past month fell almost 10 percent in their trading debuts. China Resources Peoples Telephone Co (??????), a Hong Kong wireless company controlled by China's Cabinet, fell 8.2 percent yesterday. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co (????) and Tom Online Inc dropped after US technology stocks slumped and China announced steps to curb economic growth.

"The concept of people buying into China to sell on the first day of trade at a profit is over," said Glenn Henricksen, a principal at CIF Consultants in Hong Kong, who bought shares in China Life Insurance Co (????), the world's biggest IPO last year. "The free money is finished."

The 10 IPOs that preceded Tom Online's sale produced average first-day gains of 36 percent. China Life got US$80 billion worth of orders for its shares when trying to raise US$3.47 billion. The demand for China Life's sale exceeded the total amount companies sold in initial share sales globally last year by a third.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2004/04/03/2003116537