Mixed reaction from investors for trading debuts in Hong Kong
Consumer goods company Casablanca gains 9 per cent on its debut but buyers lose appetite for property shares like CIFI which fell 1.5 per cent
Shares of bedding maker Casablanca and mainland property firm CIFI headed in opposite directions on their Hong Kong debut yesterday, indicating fresh investor appetite for the domestic consumer sector at the expense of bubbly real estate.
Shares of Casablanca soared more than 9 per cent to HK$1.64 on the first trading day, while the credit-strapped developer CIFI fell 1.5 per cent below its offer price of HK$1.33.
"The lacklustre Hong Kong debut of CIFI's offering highlighted investors' wariness over the property market in China, especially the small-sized developers that have been suffering from two years of property curbs and strapped credit conditions," a Hong Kong-based fund manager said after the market closed.
He said the credit crunch among small property firms is likely to persist due to slowing economic growth at home and less reliance on property and infrastructure development.
Jim O'Neill, the Goldman Sachs economist who coined the acronym BRIC for emerging powerhouses Brazil, Russia, India and China, said China would shift towards a domestic consumption-driven economy over the next five years.
