China Railway Construction debuts listing today
By Lillian Liu (HK Edition)
Updated: 2008-03-13 07:04

If yesterday's market sentiment is any indication, shares of China Railway Construction will increase about 20 percent in their trading debut today, analysts said.

Shares in the country's largest railway contractor soared 18 percent to HK$12.64 in pre-market trading yesterday, compared with its Hong Kong IPO price of HK$10.70.

If the market sentiment remains and there is no negative news from the global market, the stock will have a fairly good debut performance, said Dick Lee, a corporate finance officer at Phillip Securities.

"The company should increase 20 percent, supported by the strong market demand, and it would mirror the momentum of its rival, China Railway Group," Lee said.

The stock opened at HK$12.50 yesterday and reached a high of HK$12.98. The lowest point was HK$12.30.

The company raised a more-than-expected $5.4 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong and Shanghai - making the IPO the world's biggest this year.

The IPO was postponed from January due to poor stock-market conditions.

The company, which has built more than half of the mainland's railroads, rose 28 percent in its first trading day in Shanghai on Monday, but it was the worst IPO debut on the mainland in more than a year.

(HK Edition 03/13/2008 page3