20% Hong Kong-listed companies fall on debut 2007

Around one-fifth of the companies that launched IPO in Hong Kong fell on debut last year, reported by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) yesterday.

Though the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose by 39.3% at 27,812.65 points in 2007, the best year since 1999, 17 of 80 main board-listed companies on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) closed below its IPO price on their first trading day, indicating that investors are cautious about signs of weakness in the upcoming Chinese IPO market.

Some worse-than-expected performances for several new listings are caused by the stock market decline near the year end. Sinotrans Shipping Ltd<368> and Sinotruk (Hong Kong) Ltd<3808>, two companies listed on the HKEx in November, ended much lower than their IPO prices on the debut, making them two biggest victims of the stock market slide.

It is expected by PwC that companies from mainland China which will float shares in Hong Kong this year will help boost the Hong Kong market and the Greater China region will be raising more capital than London and New York combined in 2008.