A stock exchange spokesman said trading was suspended because of unusual price movements and because the exchange had asked Asian Citrus to clarify the situation.

The listing document states that net tangible asset value per share was 37.30 yuan (HK$42.34), based on the number of shares issued and outstanding on June 30.

However, on another page, the company said it had introduced a 10-for-one split by dividing the existing issued and unissued shares of 10 HK cents each into 10 shares of one cent each.

This meant that Asian Citrus' net tangible asset value per share was closer to 3.73 yuan, which analysts said should have been clearly highlighted in the listing document.

And because the listing document did not explicitly indicate the net tangible asset value per share following the split, shares were trading yesterday based on 10 times its real net asset value.

'People realised that they had been conned,' said Francis Lun Sheung-nim, a general manager with Fulbright Securities.

'The best thing to do is for the stock exchange to cancel all transactions because [Asian Citrus] traded at the wrong price.'

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which manages the stock exchange, said the trading in Asian Citrus stock would not be overturned because the transactions were completed in accordance with normal market procedure.

In a statement to the exchange yesterday afternoon, Asian Citrus said the stock split was 'already included in the listing document'. It also said it had applied for trading to resume today.

The company was listed by way of introduction and so did not offer any new shares to investors before its flotation on the exchange.

This form of listing will not raise any money but it can raise a company's profile. Initially, only existing shareholders in the group can buy or sell the company's shares.

Asian Citrus, which owns two operational plantations in Guangxi and Jiangxi provinces, is also listed on the Alternative Investment Market on the London Stock Exchange. Its closing share price on Wednesday was 45.75 pence (HK$5.89).

CLSA Equity Capital Markets, the sole sponsor of the Asian Citrus listing, declined to comment.

Yesterday also saw a poor trading debut by China Minsheng Banking Corp, the first mainland bank to fall below its offer price on its first day of trading. Minsheng closed at HK$8.80, a fall of 3.1 per cent below its offer price of HK$9.08. The offering, which was the largest this year, raised HK$30.16 billion.

The valuation of the mainland's fourth-largest bank by assets was deemed too high by analysts. It had been valued at 17.1 to 19.1 times estimated earnings this year, more than its rivals China Merchants Bank and Bank of Communications, which are trading at an average 13.7 times estimated earnings this year.

Wrong flavour

Asian Citrus shares opened at HK$51.25 and then plunged to HK$19, a drop of: 63%