Hong Kong's hottest IPOs bring worst returns to investors

Hong Kong

HONG KONG'S hottest initial public offerings have produced the worst returns for investors this year, while the least popular deals have fared far better.

Ping An Healthcare and Technology Co, in which retail investors placed orders for 654 times the shares initially available, has tumbled 37 per cent since it started trading in May.

Biotechnology firm Ascletis Pharma Inc, whose retail book was covered 10 times, is down 44 per cent from its IPO price, and Meituan Dianping, a food-delivery giant that attracted billionaire investors including Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing, has dropped 24 per cent.

Redsun Properties Group Ltd, Zhenro Properties Group Ltd and DaFa Properties Group Ltd received individual orders filling just 0.8 times their retail books, on average. Yet they have climbed an average 18 per cent from their IPO prices, putting them among the top five performers from deals above US$100 million.

Innovent Biologics Inc is the best performer. It had a retail subscription ratio of only 1.1 times and has surged 35 per cent.

The 10 most popular stocks by retail subscription ratio - from 36 offerings above US$100 million - have slumped 36 per cent on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The 10 deals with the lowest subscriptions average a drop of just 4.8 per cent. The average performance of all 36 on the list is a 7.9 per cent loss.

Tongcheng-Elong Holdings Ltd, a travel website backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd, soared 27 per cent in its debut Monday, after receiving individual orders for about 2.7 times its retail book.

It has been a tough year for Chinese equities as a whole. Investor sentiment has been bruised by a range of factors including the trade dispute with the US and signs of an economic slowdown at home. The onshore stock market has lost US$2.7 trillion in value since late January. BLOOMBERG