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China Real Estate IPO prices within expectations

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-16 13:07

NEW YORK: China Real Estate Information Corp raised about $216 million on Thursday with an initial public offering of American Depositary Receipts that priced within expectations.

The IPO of 18 million ADRs sold for $12 apiece, according to a source.

The Shanghai-based unit of real estate services company E-House China Holdings Ltd had expected shares to price between $11.80 and $13.80 each.

Related readings:  Chinese shares up 1.17% led by real estate firms  China's commercial real estate woes  Insurers eager to invest in real estate market  Asians on big city real estate buy spree  China's largest real estate developer to raise $1.6 billion

The real estate data provider operated a database of information on 38,200 developments or buildings, and 24,200 parcels of land for development, in 56 cities in China as of June 30, according to a prospectus filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Its IPO is the latest to test investor appetite for newly US listed Chinese stocks.

The two best performing IPOs this year -- water treatment equipment supplier Duoyuan Global Water Inc, up 145 percent since its June IPO, and videogames maker Changyou.com Ltd, up 99 percent since its April debut -- are from China.

But not all have been so well received. China's Shanda Games Ltd has seen its stock fall about 20 percent since its $1 billion offering last month.

China Real Estate plans to use proceeds of its IPO to fund capital expenditures, expand its sales efforts and possibly make acquisitions.

E-House will remain its parent company and controlling shareholder after the offering.

Underwriters, led by UBS and Credit Suisse, have the option to buy another 2.7 million ADRs.

The company's ADR are set to start trading on Nasdaq on Friday under the symbol "CRIC."