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To: Joe Copia who wrote (3495)	10/23/1997 7:04:00 AM
From: TradeOfTheDay	Respond to of 120523

China Telecom battered in free fall market 03:20 a.m. Oct 23, 1997 Eastern By Alison Leung HONG KONG, Oct 23 (Reuters) - What should have been Hong Kong's most spectacular new share listing, China Telecom (Hong Kong) Ltd, had a bruising start on Thursday when its debut was hit by the local exchange's biggest ever nosedive. The stock hit a low of HK$9.50, or 18.7 percent below an issue price of HK$11.68 per share, before recovering slightly to HK$9.85 in late morning, brokers said. ''Its performance is relatively calm when compared with the market which is in a free fall,'' said Patrick Chia, research director at China Everbright Research. The blue chip Hang Seng Index suffered the biggest point drop ever, plunging over 1,600 points, or 14 percent, swinging either side of the 10,000 points mark. China Telecom shares opened at HK$10.50 in the Hong Kong market following its American Depositary Shares (ADS), which dropped US$2.5 from their issue price of US$30.50 to close at US$28 in their first trading day in New York on Wednesday. The cellular telecommunications service provider, owned by China's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, offered 2.6 billion shares in a global offering. Analysts had expected a strong debut until the Hong Kong market was hit by currency and interest rate jitters. ''Now the market leads China Telecom, not the other way round,'' Chia said, adding that investors earlier expected the counter would give the market a boost. Senior executives of the China Telecom giant reassured investors about the company's strength and ability to meet profit forecasts during a mini-ceremony to mark the debut trading of the shares on Thursday morning. More than 100 journalists packed the viewing room of the Hong Kong exchange floor but China Telecom excutives made no comment on the stock's performance. ''There was quite heavy stop-loss selling on the stock both from retail investors and institutions,'' a broker at a regional brokerage said. China Telecom was the second most traded stock, which followed HSBC Holdings Plc, with 220.25 million shares worth HK$2.45 billion traded in late morning. China Telecom (Hong Kong), owned by China's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), provides telecommunication services in China's prosperous provinces of Guangdong and Zhejiang. The flotation was Hong Kong's biggest new share listing in terms of market capitalisation. -- Hong Kong News Room (852) 2843 6441; Fax 2845 0636