Three mainland companies will book retail investors' orders for their IPOs from Friday in what could start a pre-Christmas listing spree on the Hong Kong bourse.

Gold mining company Zhaojin Mining Industry, telecom service provider China Communications Services (CCS) and laminate-maker Kingboard Laminates are expected to raise HK$10.5 billion (US$1.3 billion) together through their IPOs.

They will become the first batch of companies to be listed after the mainland's top lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) raised US$21 billion on October 27.

The three companies are expected to get a huge response, thanks to the liquidity in the market, analysts said yesterday.

"They come at a right time," South China Research analyst Andes Cheng said. "After ICBC, there is a lull in the IPO market. People with idle money in hand are thirsty for new shares."

Hong Kong has seen robust money inflows since September, with international funds buying local currency to invest in Hong Kong-listed mainland companies. The situation even prompted local banks to go against the US Federal Reserve's decision of maintaining status quo and cut the lending rate by 25 basis points last month. Hong Kong has rarely taken such a decision because its dollar is pegged to the greenback and it tends to follow US moves.

A bullish stock market, too, bodes well for the upcoming listings. The benchmark Hang Seng index has consecutively touched all-time highs and is gathering momentum to even cross the 20,000 mark.

"The three IPOs are very likely to be heavily covered, prompting them to price the deals at top of the indicative range," Sun Hung Kai Financial analyst Casor Pang said.

Institutional investors have already rushed to buy the stocks.

Zhaojin's US$270-million IPO has attracted the China fund run by Kuwait's Global Investment House, Africa's biggest lender Standard Bank, Hong Kong property firm Great Eagle, and tobacco tycoon and Sing Tao News chairman Charles Ho.

US networking gear firm Cisco Systems will invest US$50 million in CCS' US$324-million offering, while International Data Group will buy US$10 million worth of shares.

Kingboard Laminates, a spin-off of Hong Kong-listed Kingboard Chemical, has reportedly got a buy promise from tycoons Lau Luen-hung and Cheng Yu-tung. Kingboard Laminates aims to raise as much as HK$5.8 billion (US$743 million).

More than ten companies and real estate investment trusts (REITs) will elbow their way to list in Hong Kong before Christmas, making December a busy month.

They are expected to raise HK$50 billion (US$6.4 billion).

"It's always like this in December," Pang said. "Companies are eager to meet the listing target before the end of the year."

These companies include the mainland's top port builder China Communications Construction Group, coal miner China National Coal Group Corp and Shanghai-based hotel chain Jinjiang International Hotels Development.

Two REITs, spun off by local developers Henderson Land and Regal Hotels, too, could go for listing before the year ends.