Qunar makes successful US IPO debut

Shares of China's Qunar Cayman Islands Limited, China's leading travel-booking website controlled by Baidu Inc, doubled the initial value in their US debut over the weekend, underlining investor confidence in Chinese companies as they make comeback to the US stock markets.

Qunar raised $167 million after it offered 11.1 million American depositary shares at $15 each, higher than the expected range of $12 to $14 for its initial public offering in the NASDAQ Global Market Saturday (Beijing time).

Qunar's stock soared 89.3 percent to hit a high of $34.99 at one point that day before it closed at $28.40.

Qunar, which literally means "where are you going" in Chinese, is controlled by Baidu, a leading Chinese search engine, who invested $306 million in Qunar in 2011 to become its biggest shareholder.

Qunar is the second US IPO by a Chinese company over the week which have price above the marketing range.

Shares of 58.com, Chinese local classified advertisement website or China's equivalent of Craigslist, surged more than 45 percent in the trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday. The company raised $187 million after its initial public offering was priced at $17 per American depositary share, above its expected price range of $13 to $15.

"The successful listing of the two companies indicates the door of the US IPO has fully re-opened to Chinese companies and US investors have resumed their confidence in them after a creditability crisis for Chinese companies over the past two years," Zhong Rixin, an analyst at imeigu.com, a US stock market information website, told the Global Times Sunday.

Zhong attributed the recent success of Chinese companies in getting listed in the US to the bullish stock market in the US as well as the strongest US IPO market in over a decade.

"The excellent performance of Chinese companies has also won recognition of the US investors," Zhong said.

Fewer Chinese companies got listed in the US over the past two years following a series of accounting scandals, with only two being listed in 2012. But they are making comeback since June when LightInTheBox, a Chinese online retailer, raised $79 million in its first trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

In August, China Commercial Credit, a microcredit firm based in Wujiang, East China's Jiangsu Province, raised $8.9 million from its IPO in the US, while Montage Technology Group, a Shanghai-based computer-chip maker, raised $71 million from a listing in the US in September.

"China's economy has embarked on a benign development path. The improving economic outlook also reinforces investor confidence in Chinese companies," Li Daxiao, director of research with Shenzhen-based Yingda Securities Co, told the Global Times.

"But they should also be careful and strictly follow the rules of the US market in terms of information disclosure and efficient operation to avoid attacks from short-selling firms," Li said.

NQ Mobile Inc, a Chinese mobile Internet security provider listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has seen its shares tumble 47 percent after US short-selling firm Muddy Water Research released a report on October 24, claiming the company inflated revenues and market shares. NQ Mobile denied the allegations.