The once-irresistible appeal of the Hong Kong initial public offering is slow to resurface, with some brokers yesterday saying they had not received any margin finance orders for shares in R&F Properties. Listing candidate Shinhint Acoustic Link Holdings, well aware of the chilly reception for recent debuts, plans to price its share issue at the low end of the indicative range. As most brokerages closed finance books for Guangdong-based R&F yesterday, many brokers said response had been tepid. 'We haven't got any subscriptions,' a Philip Securities spokesman said. KGI Securities director Ben Kwong said his brokerage had received only 'minimal' orders for R&F. Celestial Securities director Horace Kwan said only 'a few million dollars' worth of margin financing orders had been placed. R&F aims to raise $2.21 billion. 'It was very tiny compared with the over $2 billion deal,' he said. 'It's very difficult for [listing] companies to gain investors' attention after three debuts fell last week.' Shipping firm China Cosco Holdings, fire alarm system maker GST Holdings and Sim Technology all ended their first trading days at least 10 per cent lower than their offering prices. Dao Heng Securities said the response to R&F's launch looked unsatisfactory, given the adverse effect of austerity measures. R&F is offering 183.92 million shares at $10.70 to $12.03 each. The retail and institutional tranches of R&F close today. Meanwhile, a source said both the retail and institutional books of Shinhint's up to $80.25 million deal were fully subscribed but the firm might still price its shares at the low end of the indicative range of 80 cents to $1.07. Another source said both the retail and international books of Shanghai Donghua Petrochemical, which aims to raise $75.19 million, were fully covered. The retail book of Alltronics, which aims to tap up to $72 million, also closes today.