China Southern lists on mainland

China Southern
Airlines raised Yn2.64bn from an A-share launch on the Shanghai stock exchange on July
10. China's largest airline, which is also listed in Hong Kong and New York, issued 1bn
shares at Yn2.7 each, giving a price-to-earnings ratio of 18 times. The price was lower than
many ana-lysts had expected, but reflected the difficult operating environment lint airlines
following the Sars outbreak. Underwriter Galaxy Securities said the offering was over-sub-
scribed 95 times. The company said the funds would go towards the acquisition of
mainland assets.
For the week ending July 12, China Southern Airlines canted 81
per cent of pas-sengers on domestic flights compared with the same period last year. The
company said this was an amazing turnaround in business following the Sars
outbreak.