Brewer's A shares a warm order
TSINGTAO Brewery's new A shares soared 119.4 per cent on their first day of trade on the Shanghai stock exchange.
The closing price of 14 yuan (about HK$18.90 at the official rate) compared with an issue price of 6.38 yuan.
The performance failed to lift the company's Hong Kong-listed H shares, which closed unchanged yesterday at $5.60.
One Shanghai dealer noted that, taking into account the cost of taking part in the share-allocation lottery, the 14 yuan close could be regarded as representing a paper profit of just 9.6 per cent.
Investors paid two yuan each for forms that gave them a one in 1,597 chance of being entitled to buy 500 shares. That increased the average cost of each share to 12.77 yuan.
A Shanghai International Securities dealer described the share price rise as ''moderate''.
The shares opened at 15 yuan, hit 15.30 and then slid to 13.45 before closing at 14.
A total of 16.82 million Tsingtao shares changed hands, accounting for 46.4 per cent of yesterday's A shares traded in Shanghai.
The dealer said that just 90 million of Tsingtao's 100 million new A shares could be traded freely.
Trade is currently restricted in 10 million employee-owned shares.
