China Lodging Group (HTHT) had its U.S. stock debut March 26 on the Nasdaq, operates 173 hotels and manages 63 franchised lodgings throughout the Chinese mainland. It targets budget-minded travelers through its three brands: HanTing Seasons Hotel, HanTing Express Hotel and HanTing Hi Inn.
It’s intial IPO of shares tore away. Now it has slipped back.
Mike Gaiden, an analyst at Morningstar, said, "The keen interest in the IPO stems from investors’ strong appetite for growth stories in emerging markets. China Lodging’s peers in the U.S. have also shown pretty strong stock action of late."
Those peers include 7 Days Group Holdings (SVN) and Home Inns & Hotels Management. (HMIN) Shares of 7 Days are up around 11% since March 26. Home Inns’ stock has risen more than 20% over the last two months.
Morningstar has 144 properties under development.
Investors.com reported documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicate China boasted a total of 87 hotels for branded economy chains in 2003. By 2008, that number had risen to 2,805. And not many of them are working anywhere near capacity.