Tom Young
Editor
When Rusal, the Russian aluminium company, opened poorly on its first day of trading in Hong Kong last month, fears were raised that its innovative prospectus approach had failed to impress investors. Shares of Rusal fell as much as 9.3% to HK$9.80 in early trading, compared with the initial public offering price of HK$10.80.
Although market confidence had declined in the last week of January, giving some explanation for the stock's poor performance, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will be aware that its conditional approval may not have been welcomed by investors.
There was controversy before the company had begun trading. Following approval for Rusal's Hong Kong IPO to institutional investors only, market participants had begun asking whether more IPOs with restrictions could follow and lead to a professionals-only market.
On December 31, Hong Kong's listing committee and regulator gave Rusal approval...