Huatai Securities falls short of maximum fundraising target

Huatai Securities failed to raise the maximum amount in its Shanghai initial public offering in yet another sign that Chinese investors are losing their appetite for new listings, Bloomberg reported. The broker, China’s second-largest securities company by market share, sold 784.6 million shares at RMB20 (US$2.93) each – the low end of its price range – for a total of US$2.3 billion. On February 3, China First Heavy Industries became the first company in at least a year to fall short of its maximum fundraising target in Shanghai. The Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) is down 9% so far this year after gaining 80% in 2009 and three companies have posted declines on their trading debuts in the last month. Nevertheless, the market was in positive territory during early trading on February 11, led by automakers and steelmakers. It is the third consecutive day of gains, following yesterday’s 1.1% increase in the SCI to 2,982.50 points.