Three New Chinese IPOs to Debut
Anytime Chinese IPOs debut is a time to look at them carefully as an investment opportunity. These days, much of the time, the simple fact that any new Chinese company to go public can cause quite a stir is very real. And for good reason. Chinese stocks are ultra-hot, and the successful IPOs of such companies as ICBC Bank ($19.1 billion) and Mindray (MR) have given investors ammo to back up their claims that Chinese IPOs are typically winners.
This week, three Chinese companies are making their entrance into the area. The biggest is alibaba.com, of which Yahoo! owns a fair percentage. Unfortunately for U.S. investors, the IPO is only available to investors in Hong Kong. Yahoo!’s stock has been rising considerably over the past few months, perhaps in conjunction with the highly anticipated offering of alibaba. Alibaba is China’s largest e-commerce company, and its corporate history reads like the success stories of many dot com companies. It was started in 1999 in the apartment of a few friends, and has gone on to have major dealings in Hong Kong, India, U.S., U.K., and Turkey.
U.S. investors will have a crack at two new companies this week, when Giant Interactive and CNinsure offer their ADS to Wall Street. Giant Interactive (GA) is a Chinese games manufacturer who currently has the hottest online game in China, ZT Online. In July, another Chinese games manufacturer, Perfect World Co. went public, and it’s price is up 65% since. Investors are hoping for a similar performance from Giant.
Although the Chinese insurance market is flooded with companies providing a range of plans and programs, CNInsure is one of the leaders. According to an article on bloggingstocks.com by Tom Taulli, the company is helping lead China’s insurance companies to the top of Asia. He states:
As of last year, the Chinese insurance industry was ranked #3 in Asia. But, with the surging economic growth, I’m sure it will ultimately become #1. After all, life insurance premiums represent only about 1.7% of China’s GDP (this compares to about 4% in the US).
Growth has been stunning, averaging about 169.4% over the past three years. For the first six months of 2007, revenues were about $22.7 million.
