China Tower ends HK debut unchanged
HONG KONG: State-owned China Tower — the world’s largest operator of telecoms towers — ended its trading debut unchanged, here, yesterday, having chalked up the world’s biggest initial public offering (IPO) for two years.
The Beijing-based firm’s US$6.9 billion (RM28.1 billion) IPO was at the lower end of its expected range, making it the second to fall short of its main target with investor confidence hit by uncertainty linked to the China-United States trade war.
China Tower is the world’s largest IPO since Postal Savings Bank of China’s US$7.6 billion offering in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Last month, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi raised less than half its US$10 billion initial target.
Some observers say investors may see China Tower as a safe bet on the country’s mobile market because of its government backing. But others argue the statebacked monopoly could face limited growth because of a lack of competition.
Shares in the firm edged up and down through the day before ending at their HK$1.26 IPO price.
The muted trading price was “reasonable” given market conditions, said Jackson Wong of Huarong International Securities.
“It’s a pretty simple business model and China is trying to push 5G so we should see dividendpaying very soon,” he said.