Dalian Wanda float: Asia's largest IPO slips on debut

China's Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties saw its shares skid in Hong Kong's biggest market debut since 2010 on concerns surrounding debt and valuation.

Stocks of the world's second-largest developer of shopping malls and office buildings finished 2.6% below the initial public offering (IPO) price of HK$48 ($6.1, £3.9) on 23 December, after dropping some 8.8% in intra-day trade.

By comparison, Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng share average closed 0.32% lower on Tuesday. The index has added 0.12% so far this year.

Jasper Chan, corporate finance officer at Hong Kong brokerage Phillip Securities told Reuters: "Retail investors weren't so keen for this Wanda IPO. The issue price was a bit higher than [real estate] competitors."

Debt pile

The firm, considered China's largest commercial property portfolio, is sitting on a huge debt pile: around 179.7bn yuan ($29bn, €23.6bn, £18.5bn).

Moody's said in a recent report: "We estimate that Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties' net debt/net capitalization ratio will decline to 38% to 42% at the end of 2014, from 44.5% at the end of June 2014.

"The IPO will also reduce the company's reliance on debt funding, thereby enhancing its interest coverage."

The property arm of Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda Group raised $3.7bn (£2.4bn, €3bn) last week after selling 600 million shares at $6.19 apiece, priced at the higher end of expectations.

On 12 December, GF Securities analyst Dennis Yao said in a note that the outlook for Dalian Wanda's post-IPO performance was "bearish" because of the firm's high valuation compared to peers and "its low earnings visibility for 2015".

The property developer was compelled to cut the size of the offering by at least a third earlier this month, after investors balked at the high valuation. The firm had initially targeted to raise up to $6bn.