SINO Hotels (Holdings) made a strong debut yesterday to close at $2 in heavy trade, with about 12.39 million shares worth $25.46 million changing hands.
Analysts generally were optimistic about prospects for the Sino Land Co offshoot, given the tight supply of hotel rooms in Hong Kong.
The stock traded between $1.90 and $2.50.
Sino Hotels owns the 615-room City Garden Hotel in North Point, a 25 per cent stake in the 673-room Royal Pacific Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui and a 4.3 per cent stake in Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels.
Hotel interests aside, the group has two restaurants and plans to open one more.
Based on forecasts of earnings growth this year, analysts quoted a price-earning ratio of between 14 and 17 times.
An analyst with Sun Hung Kai Research said the company's outlook this year was 'pretty good' because its prime income came from Hong Kong, which was experiencing healthy growth in the hotel sector.
