HAITONG Securities Co.,Ltd.  China's third-biggest brokerage by market value, has canceled plans to raise as much as US$1.7 billion in a first-time share sale in Hong Kong because of volatile stock markets.

Haitong will revive the sale later, according to a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing yesterday. It didn't give further details.

Haitong Securities offered 1.23 billion shares at HK$9.38 (US$1.21) to HK$10.58 each and planned to start trading in Hong Kong on Thursday, according to the sale prospectus.

The company's struggle to woo investors reflects stock market swings. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd and New China Life Insurance Co.,Ltd.  sold a combined US$3.3 billion of first-time shares in Hong Kong at or near the low end of price ranges last week.

The city's Hang Seng Index fell 2.7 percent on December 9, the biggest drop in a month. The benchmark was little changed yesterday.

"Concerns about an oversupply of new stock had investors cautious," said Michiya Tomita, a Hong Kong-based fund manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co, which oversees US$65 billion globally.

Haitong Securities' price range would have valued it at 1.17-1.32 times its estimated 2012 book value per share. That compares with an average price-book ratio of 1.51 times for 11 brokerages listed in China, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

Shares in Haitong Securities fell 0.6 percent to 8.26 yuan in Shanghai yesterday, giving the brokerage a market value of 68 billion yuan (US$10.7 billion).

Source:shanghaidaily