Maoye stock drops on trading debut

Department store operator Maoye International Holdings fell almost 2% below its IPO price in its trading debut, the Wall Street Journal reported. Maoye’s stock closed Monday at HK$3.04 (US$0.39), below its offering price of HK$3.10. The benchmark Hang Seng index closed down 0.2%. Maoye runs 15 department stores in China and successfully listed on its second attempt to go public. It halted a planned offering in January because of unfavorable market conditions. The company raised US$343 million on listing, compared to the US$905 million it had planned to raise. Analysts said investors are picking established companies over new listings.