BRIEF: Shouhui slumps in Hong Kong trading debut

Shares of insurance distributor Shouhui Group Ltd.  (2621.HK) slumped in their Hong Kong trading debut on Friday after pricing strongly in their modest IPO. The stock opened at HK$7.50, down 7% from its IPO price of HK$8.08, and continued to drop during the morning session, closing down over 14% at HK$6.92 by the midday break.

The company sold nearly 19.3 million shares, with the final price at the top of its range of HK$6.48 and HK$8.08 per share. The local portion of the listing, equal to 10% of shares on offer, was oversubscribed by 989 times. By contrast, the international placement drew tepid interest and was just slightly oversubscribed.

The company raised HK$134 million ($17 million) in net proceeds from the offering. It will use the funds primarily to bolster its sales and marketing operations, improve its service quality and R&D capacity and upgrade its infrastructure. Some funds are also earmarked for strategic acquisitions and investments.

By Lau Chi Hang

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