Horizon Construction shares plummet in Hong Kong trading debut (updated)

Horizon Construction Development

25/05/2023 02:42

(Updates shares, adds background)
       HONG KONG, May 25 (Reuters) - Shares of China's Horizon
Construction Development Ltd  9930.HK  plunged 29% in their Hong
Kong market debut on Thursday after it raised $210.2 million in
its initial public offering.
    The provider of construction services opened at HK$3.26 per
share after it priced its shares at HK$4.52 each, which was at
the bottom of a range flagged to investors when the deal was
launched. 
    The stock was fell as much as 29% in early trade to HK$3.21.
    Horizon is being spun off from financial services provider
Far East Horizon Ltd  3360.HK  which will retain a 71.7% stake.
    Demand for Horizon Construction shares during the IPO's
bookbuild was weak, with retail investors taking up just 12% of
the stock on offer to them, according to the company's filings.
        There were 36.47 million shares on offer for sale to
Hong Kong's retail investors but those shareholders bought only
4.48 million shares, the filings showed. 
    The stock that was not bought was sold to institutional
investors.
    Hong Kong's army of retail investors are typically strong
participants in IPOs but ongoing stockmarket volatility has
prompted them to retreat from equities.
    The city's Hang Seng Index  .HSI  is down about 3% year to
date.
    The institutional tranche was 1.47 times oversubscribed with
122 investors taking stock in the IPO, which is also considered
weak compared to previous deals where books were multiple times
oversubscribed.


 (Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree,
Muralikumar Anantharaman and Edwina Gibbs)
 ((Scott.Murdoch@thomsonreuters.com;))