Sinotruk slumps on HK debut

Shares in truck manufacturer Sinotruk fell 15.68% on its trading debut in Hong Kong on Wednesday, sparking fears about the prospects for upcoming stock offerings, the South China Morning Post reported. The slump comes after Sinotrans Shipping saw its share price drop by 12.96% when it began trading on Friday. The Hang Seng Index is down 12.7% so far in November, and is on course for its worst monthly performance since 2001. Bankers said the experiences of Sinotruk and Sinotrans are likely to put retail investors off initial public offerings as they will no longer see them as a way of making a quick profit. This does not bode well for China Railway Group, which is looking to raise about US$5 billion in a joint Hong Kong and Shanghai IPO.