Many will have been pleased at yesterday's 2.76 per cent rebound in the Hang Seng Index but few will have been happier than Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun and his bankers. Early yesterday they were forced into an embarrassing climb-down after Mr Ho's sister Winnie sought a judicial review of the initial public offering of Mr Ho's casino operator SJM Holdings. To cover themselves against the new risk, SJM and its bankers postponed the stock's trading debut from today until July 16 and offered a three-day window for retail investors in the share sale to demand their money back. In the event, Ms Ho's application for a review was turned down but the money-back offer remains open, leaving investors facing an unusual dilemma: whether or not to change their minds, turn down their allocation of shares and demand the return of their subscription cheques. This, of course, is the exact opposite of the situation Hong Kong's IPO investors have got used to in recent years. Typically, they sent off their cheques only to be told that the offering was so massively oversubscribed that their application had either been entirely unsuccessful or that they had been allotted just a tiny fraction of the shares they wanted. This time around, however, the vast majority of retail subscribers need not worry about their applications failing. SJM's retail offering was oversubscribed by a mere 17 per cent. That compares with retail tranches oversubscribed by 20,000 per cent or more at the height of last year's bull market. But it is likely a good many of the 11,490 investors who did apply will now be having second thoughts. For one thing, they will have had the time to look through SJM's prospectus in greater detail. It doesn't make pretty reading. As the charts below show, in a market which grew 47 per cent last year, SJM's profits shrank 38 per cent; hardly the growth story Hong Kong investors are used to buying into. Still, anyone buying into the offering should have known about SJM's sinking earnings and is unlikely to be deterred simply by a rereading of the prospectus. What might well put them off is a quick look at how other Hong Kong-listed Macau casino plays have performed since they sent in their subscriptions. Since the books opened on SJM on June 23, shares in Melco International have slumped by 20 per cent while Galaxy Entertainment Group has sunk 27 per cent. Add to that consideration the risk that Ms Ho might file an appeal against the court's rejection of a review just in time to weigh on SJM's first day of trading and many investors might well conclude they are better off asking for their money back now and then swooping in to pick up the stock on the cheap should it slide on its debut next Wednesday. If that is how they are thinking, the only thing likely to stop them demanding their money back would be a vigorous rebound in the Hong Kong stock market. Yesterday's 2.8 per cent rally will have raised hopes in the SJM camp. But if the market slumps back today, it would not be surprising if a significant number of retail investors decided to take advantage of the offer and cash in their chips on SJM.