Jiangsu Slender West Lake Culture and Tourism postponed its global offering and planned Hong Kong Main Board listing two days before its scheduled October 23 debut. Its October 21 announcement cited several factors, including prevailing market conditions, according to Yicai. [1]

The decision came alongside losses for buyers of recent offerings. Eight of the 14 stocks listed in Hong Kong since September fell below their offer price on their first trading day, Yicai reported on October 27, citing Yu Fenghui, a consultant at the Top 100 Hong Kong Listed Companies Research Center. Medcaptain Medical Technology fell nearly 43 per cent. [1]

Hong Kong’s fundraising figures still show a record year through September. The exchange recorded 116 new listings that raised more than HK$388 billion in the nine months to September 30, more than twice the year-earlier proceeds and the highest total for any nine-month period in its history. [1]

Ronald Wan, chief executive of Partners Capital International, told Yicai that mainland businesses seeking dual listings and advanced technology firms had driven the fundraising. He expects full-year proceeds of HK$480 billion to HK$500 billion, even as a gap has emerged in new IPO filings and some offerings have been delayed or abandoned. [1]

For investors considering the next offer, the eight first-day declines are evidence of recent debut risk. They do not explain why each stock fell or predict the next listing’s performance. Nor does the record fundraising total establish how readily the next issuer can complete an offering. [1]

Slender West Lake said it remained committed to completing its listing. But after considering factors including prevailing market conditions, it put back the global offering and the October 23 listing that investors had been due to assess. [1]