SHANGHAI - As China’s new Nasdaq-style tech board approaches the end of its first week of volatile trade, fund managers are offloading their holdings to hungry retail investors and locking in bumper profits.
The STAR Market’s launch represents Beijing’s boldest move yet toward a less-regulated market for initial public offerings and stock trading. Taking advantage of STAR Market fever that sent shares surging as much as 520% on Monday’s debut, MAM, which held IPO shares worth several million yuan, has “sold a good portion” to eager buyers, Zhou said.
Retail investors did most of the buying, accounting for more than 90% of such transactions, while institutional investors, including fund houses and insurers, accounted for most of the sellers. Short-selling demand and the limited supply of STAR Market shares available for lending has pushed borrowing costs up by as much as 20% on an annualized basis, compared with 8% for stocks elsewhere, traders said. Fuelling this are rules that allow investors to borrow newly-listed shares to sell for the first time.
Also known as the shooting star!