10-06-2011, 06:58 AM
Jun 10, 2011
Perennial ends 13% off on SGX debut
Stock loses $101m in a day; traders disappointed but firm's mood upbeat
By Gabriel Chen, Finance Correspondent
PERENNIAL China Retail Trust, which owns shopping mall assets in China, closed at 61 cents on its debut in the Singapore Exchange yesterday - 12.86 per cent below its initial public offering (IPO) price.
In just a day, the stock lost $101 million in value.
The poor performance of the trust, which is managed by a company controlled by former CapitaLand retail chief Pua Seck Guan, was disappointing to investors, given that it had already deferred its IPO launch in March due to volatile market conditions.
But at the listing ceremony yesterday, Mr Pua was anything but perturbed by the less-than-ideal debut.
'I think the market is volatile. It's just like a wave. When the wave comes, it may be down, or if it's high tide it may go up,' he said.
'I guess what's important is that as management, we are like... the captain of the ship, and we need to sail through the storm and the waves.
'And we believe that we have a good product... and it's our job to deliver what we have told investors, and to deliver the returns that we have projected to investors,' he concluded.
Strong words of confidence, industry watchers say, but the assurance is much-needed because the market for new listings has been extremely rocky of late.
Take the performance of the last four IPOs in Singapore prior to Perennial's listing.
Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, Mapletree Commercial Trust and Chew's Group have all dipped below their offer prices.
Dyna-Mac Holdings, which counts blue-chip rigmaker Keppel Corp as a shareholder, is the only one that has bucked the trend. The provider of engineering, procurement and construction services to the offshore oil and gas industries has seen its share price rise 54.29 per cent since its listing on Mar 2.
The lacklustre appetite for risk has also hit the world's biggest IPO hub Hong Kong, with shares in Swiss commodities giant Glencore still below water and luggage maker Samsonite said to be cutting its IPO price range.
Even 'hot stocks' have not been spared. Social media group LinkedIn, which saw a huge run-up in its share price from US$45 to over US$100 on the first day of trading, has been hit by the poorer sentiment, and is now trading at US$75.
It all has to do with renewed worries over the global economic outlook and the uncertainty surrounding the resolution of Greece's debt crisis, experts said.
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday also acknowledged that the United States' economy had slowed, but offered no hint that the central bank was considering further stimulus to support growth.
AmFraser Securities strategist Najeeb Jarhom predicted: 'The market's waiting to fall, and it looks quite bearish for the next couple of weeks.'
gabrielc@sph.com.sg
Perennial ends 13% off on SGX debut
Stock loses $101m in a day; traders disappointed but firm's mood upbeat
By Gabriel Chen, Finance Correspondent
PERENNIAL China Retail Trust, which owns shopping mall assets in China, closed at 61 cents on its debut in the Singapore Exchange yesterday - 12.86 per cent below its initial public offering (IPO) price.
In just a day, the stock lost $101 million in value.
The poor performance of the trust, which is managed by a company controlled by former CapitaLand retail chief Pua Seck Guan, was disappointing to investors, given that it had already deferred its IPO launch in March due to volatile market conditions.
But at the listing ceremony yesterday, Mr Pua was anything but perturbed by the less-than-ideal debut.
'I think the market is volatile. It's just like a wave. When the wave comes, it may be down, or if it's high tide it may go up,' he said.
'I guess what's important is that as management, we are like... the captain of the ship, and we need to sail through the storm and the waves.
'And we believe that we have a good product... and it's our job to deliver what we have told investors, and to deliver the returns that we have projected to investors,' he concluded.
Strong words of confidence, industry watchers say, but the assurance is much-needed because the market for new listings has been extremely rocky of late.
Take the performance of the last four IPOs in Singapore prior to Perennial's listing.
Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, Mapletree Commercial Trust and Chew's Group have all dipped below their offer prices.
Dyna-Mac Holdings, which counts blue-chip rigmaker Keppel Corp as a shareholder, is the only one that has bucked the trend. The provider of engineering, procurement and construction services to the offshore oil and gas industries has seen its share price rise 54.29 per cent since its listing on Mar 2.
The lacklustre appetite for risk has also hit the world's biggest IPO hub Hong Kong, with shares in Swiss commodities giant Glencore still below water and luggage maker Samsonite said to be cutting its IPO price range.
Even 'hot stocks' have not been spared. Social media group LinkedIn, which saw a huge run-up in its share price from US$45 to over US$100 on the first day of trading, has been hit by the poorer sentiment, and is now trading at US$75.
It all has to do with renewed worries over the global economic outlook and the uncertainty surrounding the resolution of Greece's debt crisis, experts said.
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday also acknowledged that the United States' economy had slowed, but offered no hint that the central bank was considering further stimulus to support growth.
AmFraser Securities strategist Najeeb Jarhom predicted: 'The market's waiting to fall, and it looks quite bearish for the next couple of weeks.'
gabrielc@sph.com.sg
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/