Shares in Pou Sheng International (Holdings) and Central China Real Estate both dived on their first trading day on the main board yesterday as investors remained lukewarm towards new stocks.
Pou Sheng International, which had priced its shares at HK$3.05 each to raise HK$2.51 billion via an initial public offering, fell 44 cents, or 14.43 per cent, to close the day at HK$2.61.
That brought retail investors a paper loss, excluding expenses, of about HK$440 for each board lot of 1,000.
Central China raised about HK$1.38 billion from its 500 million share public offering, after setting its offer price at HK$2.75. Its shares decline by 8 HK cents, or 2.91 per cent, to close at HK$2.67.
Retail subscribers to the company's shares suffered a paper loss, excluding expenses, of HK$80 on each board lot of 1,000 shares.
'The market has remained volatile, and to mitigate potential investment risks many investors have stopped buying IPOs,' said Yiu Chin, director of financial analysis at Altruist Financial Group.
Of the 12 new listings so far this year, Pou Sheng's 14.43 per cent slump made it the worst performing stock in a first trading day.