Qingdao Port, investor raise HK$2.9b in IPO

[HONG KONG] A Chinese port services firm has completed a rare fixed-price initial public offering (IPO) of shares in Hong Kong in an accelerated, pragmatic sale skirting the market jitters that derailed more ambitious regional listings in the last few weeks.

Qingdao Port International Co and its controlling shareholder raised a combined HK$2.92 billion (S$472 million) in the sale, sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Friday. Priced at HK$3.76 each, the share sale raises funds to expand facilities at Qingdao port in eastern China, the world's seventh busiest by shipping volume.

The company and its bankers chose the fixed-price strategy as it "made it more efficient, simpler" and faster to execute, one of the sources said. The sources, who weren't authorised to speak publicly on the matter, said they expect fixed-price deals to remain the exception as markets gradually stabilise.