Postal Savings Bank of China Co (中國郵政儲蓄銀行) yesterday made a low-key debut on the Hong Kong bourse, despite notching up the world’s biggest initial public offering (IPO) in two years.
China’s fifth-biggest lender raked in a colossal US$7.4 billion in the flotation, with a report in Chinese-language financial news portal Caixin Media Company Ltd (財新傳媒) saying that a fund linked to investment guru George Soros was among the initial investors.
However, the firm’s first day of trading saw it post a tepid rise in the morning session, with analysts saying the muted response was expected, due to the glut of options in Chinese banking.
“We have already got a lot of Chinese banks in the market. The ones [already] publicly traded are cheaper,” said Jackson Wong (黃志陽), associate director of Hong Kong-based Simsen International Financial Group (天行國際金融集團).
He said there was a “limited upside” for newly listed Chinese banks because of this.
Selling pressure would also be low, as investors tended to hold Chinese bank shares long term, he added.
Shares in the company ended yesterday’s trading at HK$4.77, up from its HK$4.76 listing price, while the wider Hang Seng Index rose 0.2 percent.
Bloomberg said that Postal Savings Bank’s first-morning performance was in line with other financial IPOs in Hong Kong since 2010.
Postal Savings Bank chairman Li Guohua (李國華) described the launch as “successful” and an “important milestone” for the company.
“The successful public listing ... clearly shows the intrinsic values of Postal Savings Bank are broadly endorsed by investors,” he said at the stock’s launch ceremony in Hong Kong’s Central financial district.
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