New IPOs see prices spike up

A technician inspects coal-mining machines at a Shaanxi Coal Industry Co branch. China's third-largest coal miner raised 4 billion yuan in its IPO on Tuesday, which was only about 40 percent of the company's projections. [Photo by Wang Song / Xinhua]

The share price of Shanghai-listed Shaanxi Coal Industry Co Ltd jumped some 14 percent on the stock's debut on Tuesday, the largest listing since China's relaunch of initial public offerings in December.

Another eight Shenzhen-listed stocks spiked 44 percent from their IPO prices on their first day of trade on Tuesday, the maximum allowed, so trading in them was suspended.

Shares of Shaanxi Coal sold at 5.76 yuan ($0.95) in early morning trading, up 44 percent from the IPO price of 4 yuan, the maximum allowed. The trading was then suspended until 2:55 pm, five minutes before the closing of the day's trading. The shares closed at 4.55 yuan, a 13.75 percent gain.

The rise in price of shares in an IPO can exceed the 10 percent daily limit that applies to older equities after a delay in trading on the first day of their release. Thereafter, they are subject to the 10 percent limit.

Shaanxi Coal, China's third- largest coal miner, raised 4 billion yuan in the IPO, only about 40 percent of its original plan.

About 4.8 percent of the investors who applied to purchase shares in the coal miner's IPO were successful, showing a relatively high level of success and hence lower intentions to purchase its newshares amid worries over declining coal prices and the unsteady profitability of the sector, said analysts.

"Profitability has been affected by the gloomy market, and profit margin has been narrowing since 2011," said Ge Jun, an analyst at Changjiang Securities, in a note.

Ge said the slower-than-expected pace of railway building in Shaanxi may also affect the outflowing of Shaanxi coal products, which may hinder its sales growth.

Spiking share prices of the newly listed stocks has also stirred up controversies over the regulators' decision to restart the initial public offering amid less-than-thriving market sentiments.

"Investors are already quite concerned about the profitability of some of the already-listed companies, especially those from sectors with excessive capacity. The market needs more time and strict regulations to allow poorly performing companies to exit instead of more companies that possess huge uncertainties," said Liu Tao, a stock investor in Shanghai.

Spiking and then rapidly diving share prices of newly listed stocks show the pricing of new shares is not rational. Some stocks have been obviously overpriced, said Liu.

Xiao Gang, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said in an internal work conference on Monday that relaunch of the initial public offering was the commission's decision after carefully analyzing market conditions, reported the Securities Times.

Xiao said the commission should not play the role of housekeeper distributing quotas, a move that will not work. It is necessary to recognize the current problems and solve them in the long-term.

The key to solving the imbalance between supply and demand in the stock market is a well-handled relationship between decision-makers and the market, reported Securities Times, quoting Xiao.

The CSI300 of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listings gained 0.26 percent on Tuesday. The CSI300 is a capitalization-weighted stock market index designed to replicate the performance of 300 stocks traded in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.