Postal Bank shares flag following IPO

Postal Savings Bank of China made a flat debut in Hong Kong as concern over the health of China’s banking sector cast a shadow over the sprawling lender’s $7.4 billion initial public offering, the world’s biggest in two years, Reuters reports. PSBC shares closed just a fraction above the HK$4.76 (US$0.61) IPO price on Wednesday at HK$4.77. The benchmark Hang Seng index ended 0.2% higher. The lukewarm start for the last of China’s big banks to go public comes as investors keep a weather eye on bad debt piling up at Chinese banks. Retail demand for the IPO was modest, with fund managers saying the deal carried a higher valuation than PSBC’s peers and three-quarters of shares pre-sold to “cornerstone” investors, mainly other Chinese state-owned firms.