Shenzhen IPOs see share prices soar

The first group of initial public offerings in mainland China since September launched in Shenzhen on Friday, the South China Morning Post reported. Guilin Sanjin Pharmaceutical jumped 82% from its opening price of RMB19.79 (US$2.90) to RMB36.01 (US$5.27), while Zhejiang Wanma Cable shot up 125% from RMB11.52 (US$1.69) to RMB25.93 (US$3.79). Overall, the Shenzhen A-Share Index fell 0.5% to 1,095.906 points. Analysts had expected prices would range between RMB17-32 (US$2.49-US$4.68) for Guilin Sanjin, and between RMB8-18 (US$1.17-2.63) for Zhejiang Wanma. Even though the exchange had announced that it would limit share price fluctuations of small and medium-sized companies on their first day of trading, the new listings still drew speculative trades.