First IPO since listing freeze makes strong debut

BEIJING - China's first initial public offering (IPO) since the year-long listing freeze on Friday received a fervent response from traders whose cheers brought its tradings to a temperory halt.

Neway Valve (Suzhou) Co Ltd, an industrial valve manufacturer, made a strong debut on the board, with its shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange opening around 20 percent over the offering price.

Neway continued upward by as much as 31.99 percent in the morning session, prompting a temporary halt to trading according to new IPO rules that set limits to price changes.

At the close, Neway Valve ended at 25.34 yuan per share, 43.49 percent over the offering price. The broader Shanghai Stock Exchange dropped 0.93 percent.

"The market response showed investors want new blood in the stock market," said Qin Xiaobin with China Galaxy Securities.

For other firms waiting to launch IPOs, Neway's debut performance was an encouraging sign, but its following price movements will be mainly decided by the firms' strength, Qin noted.

Meanwhile, analysts cautioned that too fast a resumption of IPOs would put a strain on the stock market where liquidity remains tight.

China announced resumption of IPOs at the end of last year after a hiatus throughout 2012 on fears that new shares would undermine what meagre confidence there was in the already dismal market, along with a new reform plan that changed the system from approval-based to registration-based.

Altogether 51 companies have got the nod for IPOs and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will not review new IPO applications until March.

With the process moving on, the CSRC suddenly stepped in earlier this month with new measures to tighten the supervision of IPOs, two days after Jiangsu Aosaikang Pharmaceutical Co Ltd shelved its plans, saying "the proposed issuance was too big".

The maker of anti-cancer agents had planned to debut on the ChiNext board by selling 55.46 million shares priced at 72.99 yuan ($11.97) each, which could raise a capital of 790 million yuan. The price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is 67 times its 2012 net profit, setting a new record of PE since the end of 2013.

The CSRC requires issuers and underwriters to publish investment risk reports at least once a week during the three weeks prior to online subscription if the PE ratio manifested in the proposed IPO price is higher than that of their listed peers.

The financial watchdog said it would conduct spot checks on IPO roadshows, halt a company's IPO and mete out punishment if issuers and underwriters used information other than that publicly disclosed in the prospectus.

Following the new rules, several firms, including Hebei Huijin Electromechanical Co Ltd and Ciming Checkup, have suspended their listings.