China's Shanda Offer $1.04bn to Get Nasdaq Listed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) September 26, 2009 -- The strong take-up for the offering, which was priced at $12.50 per American depositary share, highlights the continuing dominance of Asian issuers this year.

According to data provider Dealogic, issuers from Asian countries (excluding Japan) raised a combined $31.4bn, of which $24.6bn was raised by Chinese companies. However,US companies have raised just $6.5bn through listings since January.

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China's Shanda Offer $1.04bn to Get Nasdaq Listed

While much of the focus has been on Chinese listings, India and South Korea also have a strong pipeline of IPOs.Yesterday, Posco, the South Korean steelmaker, said its IPO would next month raise up to Won1,080bn ($912m).

Analysts said that strong investor demand for Shanda highlighted continued confidence in China's online gaming industry.

The Chinese government forecasts revenues in the sector will grow by up to 50 per cent this year to Rmb24bn-Rmb27bn ($3.5bn-$3.9bn).

Shares of Changyou, the gaming spin-off of Chinese internet portal Sohu, have soared 145 per cent since its Nasdaq listing in April, making it the US's bestperforming IPO so far.

The Shanda IPO was 10 times subscribed. If the greenshoe over-allotment option is exercised, the deal value will rise to $1.2bn. Some analysts have warned that Shanda could struggle to match Changyou's performance - which priced at the bottom of the market in March.

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