Chinese website operator gains off US IPO

Social networking firm YY’s (YY.NYSE) share price jumped after it raised US$81.9 million from an initial public offering in the US, the first by a Chinese company since February, Bloomberg reported. The company’s American depositary receipts (ADRs), each worth 20 ordinary shares, gained 7.7% to US$11.31 in New York on Wednesday, after they being issued at US$10.50. The shares had been priced at the low end of the firm’s expected US$10.50 to US$12.50 range. The ADRs had increased as much as 12% to US$11.75 earlier in the day’s trading. The number of IPOs by Chinese companies in the US has fallen dramatically, with YY being the third to go public in New York this year, compared to 13 in 2011 and 38 in 2010, according to Bloomberg data. Interest in US-listed Chinese companies has wanned after certain firms were hit by allegations of poor accounting practices and misrepresentation of assets by short sellers.