China Railway A-shares disappoint in initial trading

Shares of China Railway Construction Corp (CRC) went up 28% on the company’s first day of trading in Shanghai Monday, failing to meet analyst expectations of a 43% increase, the Wall Street Journal reported. CRC’s A-shares ended the day at RMB11.64 (US$1.64), up from a starting price of RMB9.08 (US$1.28) but down from an intraday high of RMB12.18 (US$1.71), while the Shanghai Composite Index ended down 3.6% at 4,146.30. Analysts said the company’s disappointing performance pointed to investor concern over a glut of shares as a result of listings by large companies on the mainland bourse. CRC, the world’s sixth-largest construction company by revenue, raised US$3.1 billion in a mainland initial public offering in late February, followed by a US$2.3 billion IPO in Hong Kong last week. CRC’s Hong Kong-listed shares will begin trading on Thursday, March 13.