ANALYSTS covering Shanghai Petrochemical's listing on the Hongkong stock exchange have turned their backs on the flotation and are recommending that clients avoid subscribing.
Out of 11 brokerages - none linked to the flotation - questioned yesterday, only one recommended the subscription.
Of the remainder, seven recommended that clients should avoid the subscription, one was neutral and three would make no comment.
One broker said: ''Hongkong is a pretty lonely place right now for anyone underwriting Shanghai Petrochemical.'' The broker recommending subscription to the issue of 1.68 million H shares, of which some 840,000 could be offered in Hongkong at $1.74, was Kim Eng Securities. No one was available at the brokerage yesterday to comment on the recommendation.
Nomura Research Institute was neutral on the issue, a broker spokesman said yesterday.
Those making no comment were US-based Morgan Stanley and Hongkong-based Standard Chartered Asia and Wardley James Capel.