Jul. 9, 2007 (China Knowledge) – Leading mainland producer of zinc, nickel and copper, Western Mining Co., raised RMB 6.2 billion in its debut initial public offering in Shanghai after fixing its price at the higher ceiling of its indicative range between RMB 12 to RMB 13.48 each.

The Qinghai-based metal producer sold 460 million new shares, or 19.3% of its enlarged share capital. The capital raised from the IPO valued the shares at 20.87 times last year's earnings. Strategist at Haitong Securities, Wang Sheng said the stock is likely to soar at least 40% to 50% on its trading debut given the strong demand.

Investors are pouring funds into Chinese shares to profit from the market, particularly for Chinese companies going public as their shares are expected to surge after their debut. With the favorable outlook on raw materials and metals, the IPO attracted RMB 1.51 trillion worth of orders, or 244 times the available shares. UBS Securities will be the underwriter for the deal.

The shares are scheduled to commence trading on the Shanghai stock exchange by July 16, according to IPO filings. Meanwhile, Beijing is egging quality Hong Kong-listed mainland firms to go public in mainland bourses in a bid to curb speculation. Hence, Western Mining decided to discard its original plan to list in Hong Kong and went public in Shanghai instead.