China Coal Energy Co shares rose nearly 13 percent on their Hong Kong debut yesterday, underperforming some recent IPOs as investors cooled towards the resources sector and the broader market fell.

 

Shares of China Coal, the mainland's second largest coal group by revenue, closed at HK$4.56, compared with an IPO price of HK$4.05, after it raised US$1.69 billion from a deal that saw its retail tranche oversubscribed 181 times and was priced at the top of its range.

 

Its first-day performance failed to match that of mainland IPOs last Friday, each of which rose more than 29 percent on their debuts, with shares of hotel operator Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels jumping 73 percent.

 

Although China Coal Energy's performance was rather lacklustre, analysts remain optimistic about its prospects.

 

"Those government-backed mainland companies have strong growth potential. The central government has made great efforts to regulate coal mining in the world's biggest coal consuming country. The upcoming energy law aims to improve power supply, which is good news for investors," said Louise Wong, a director at Phillip Asset Management, a Hong Kong-based securities consulting firm.

 

Other analysts said that China Coal Energy's poor performance was a result of too many IPOs taking place recently in Hong Kong.

 

Before China Coal Energy's listing, Shenhua Energy Co, China's top coal producer and Yanzhou Coal Mining Co went public in Hong Kong. Both attracted a great deal of interest from investors betting on newly upgraded power plants in the world's fastest-growing economy.

 

China Coal's rise values its shares at 16.5 times 2006 earnings, compared with Shenhua Energy's 16.7 times and Yanzhou's 10.9 times 2006 profits.

 

China Coal Energy sold 3.25 billion shares in the deal arranged by China International Capital Corp, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley. The company said in its prospectus that it will use 65 percent of the IPO proceeds to improve capacity and pay off bank loans.

 

Shenhua Energy produced 121 million tons of coals last year, while China Coal Energy's output stood at 50.12 million tons and Yanzhou Coal Mining produced 34.7 million tons.

 

Coal accounts for more than 70 percent of China's total energy consumption, and domestic output continues to increase rapidly as energy demand soars. Demand for fuel may surge 8.5 percent to 2.51 billion tons by 2007, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

 

(China Daily December 20, 2006)