The issue traded between $3.825 and $4.225, with 104.66 million shares worth $425.73 million changing hands.

Brokers blamed much of the poor performance on HHI's high initial offering price, which put the stock at 17 times forecast earnings of 24.2 cents per share for the year ended June 30.

The debut was also hurt by overall market weakness. The Hang Seng Index fell 189.84 points or 1.86 per cent to 9,987.54 yesterday.

'The weak debut came as no surprise, as many people know the stock is more expensive than other toll-road companies on the main board despite its sound fundamentals,' VC CEF Brokerage director Louis Tse Ming-kwong said. 'The market didn't help either.'

HHI plans to use the $3 billion in proceeds from the offer to finance future infrastructure projects. The IPO was Hong Kong's second-largest this year after H-share Sinotrans.

Sir Gordon, chairman of Hopewell Holdings and HHI, rejected criticism yesterday that the offer was priced too high. He said the shares had been fixed near the low end of a $4.03 to $5.28 range to attract more investors.

The Hopewell spin-off found more support from developer Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), which doubled its subscription to 144 million shares for a total cost of $601.92 million.

HHI and SHKP are among a group of private investors seeking to invest in the proposed 15 billion yuan (HK$14.13 billion) bridge linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau.

'Hopewell Highway is in a strong financial position to bid for the project,' Sir Gordon said.

The bridge - which Sir Gordon has fiercely championed - would link transport, logistics and tourism development in the Pearl River Delta and boost HHI's toll-road network in Guangdong.

HHI's crown asset is a 122.8km superhighway between Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

Sir Gordon welcomed a decision by Hong Kong and Guangdong authorities on Tuesday to proceed with the bridge's preparation work at the end of this month, in which a taskforce will meet for the first time to study the project's economic benefits, costs, planned routes and potential environmental impact. The nine-member taskforce is composed of government officials from Macau, Hong Kong and Guangdong province. 'I am optimistic it will be completed by around 2007,'' Sir Gordon said.

He said the bridge should be managed on a build-operate-transfer basis, which involves private investors building the project and operating it for a period of time before handing it over to a government body. This type of project was common in Guangdong and Hong Kong, he said.

Sir Gordon also said customs clearance in Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau should be conducted collectively in one location for the sake of convenience.

Cost considerations

Brokers said the issue was priced too high at 17 times earnings for the year to June 30

But chairman Sir Gordon Wu said the offer was priced at the low end of its range

HHI plans to use the $3 billion raised to pay for future projects