Lai Fung gets late support
A rush of buying orders at the close of trading turned an otherwise depressed debut for Lai Fung Holdings into a heartening first-appearance.
Lai Fung managed to close at $2.85, slightly up on its issue price of $2.80.
After opening at $3, the shares plunged to a low of $2.35, and for most of the day traded around the $2.50 level.
Strong buying orders started to emerge in the late afternoon, pushing up the share price to as high as $2.90 before closing at $2.85.
About 7.3 million shares worth $19.85 million changed hands.
Lai Fung chairman Peter Lam Kin-ngok said: 'We are extremely pleased with the way Lai Fung's shares traded on the first day, particularly bearing in mind the poor performance of other China stocks and the generally thin trading volumes.' Analysts said the thin trade meant that the share price could be easily pumped up by a rush of buying orders.
The low volume was expected because a limited number of shares was in public hands.
Lai Fung is the mainland property arm of Lai Sun Development Co.
