China Cinda finds favour with investors

China Cinda Asset Management, the first mainland bad-asset manager to list in Hong Kong, has priced its shares at the top end of its marketing range.

The Beijing-based firm yesterday set a price of HK$3.58 for its shares after substantial institutional and retail interest in its anti-cyclical investment story of growing bad debt in a slowing economy.

This means the company will raise HK$19 billion.

Meanwhile, Qinhuangdao Port, the operator of the world's largest coal port, priced its shares at the bottom of its marketing range at HK$5.25.

This was despite ample support from state-owned peers, including Hong Kong-listed China Communications Construction, which pledged to commit US$240 million or 43 per cent of the entire deal.

Investment banks are keen to take companies public before the end of the year after experiencing a drought of new listings earlier in the year. They are also keen to move before the United States Federal Reserve begins to taper quantitative easing, with resulting interest rate increases expected to affect investor sentiment.