New | China's Qunar and Ctrip surge after tie-up announcement creates online travel services giant
Shares of Qunar and Ctrip.com International jumped after the two mainland firms announced a share swap and business partnership
Shares of Qunar and Ctrip.com International jumped after the two mainland firms announced a share swap and business partnership that would create the nation’s largest online travel services provider amid increasingly fierce competition in a fast-growing market.
Qunar, a Chinese travel search engine operator controlled by Baidu, jumped 8.8 per cent to US$43 at mid-day Monday in New York after rising as much as 25.8 per cent, while rival Ctrip, the nation’s biggest online travel agency, rallied 21.4 per cent to US$90.23 after surging as much as 30.9 per cent.
Their shares exchange ratio valued Qunar at a 36 per cent premium to last Friday’s market closing price.
Baidu, which will become the majority shareholder of Qunar after the merger, gained 6.5 per cent to US$167.68.
Alibaba Group, which is due to announce today its results for the three months to September 30, edged up 0.56 per cent to US$76.
Qihoo 360 Technology, China’s largest Internet security services provider, rose 3.2 per cent to US55.90, after it announced on Friday a change in its chief business officer and appointed a chief strategy officer.
Meanwhile, the Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI300 China A-Shares ETF fell 2.5 per cent to US$36, despite the Shanghai Composite Index ending 0.5 per cent higher on Monday.
The iShares China Large-Cap ETF tracking Hong Kong-listed Chinese shares slid 2.2 per cent to US$39.48, after the Hang Seng Index fell 0.15 per cent on Monday.
