Shares in first German Chinese listing bound ahead

Jul 6, 2007, 14:06 GMT

Frankfurt - Investors piled into shares in ZhongDe Waste Technology AG Friday beating up the stock price of the group which became the first Chinese company to list on the German stock exchange.

Shares in ZhongDe jumped to 30 euros (41 dollars) in early trading Friday well above the manufacturer of waste incinerators' 26-euro issue price.

The company said it decided to list in Frankfurt because of Germany's leading role in the environmental technology industry.

Underscoring the interest in the ZhongDe stock, the company's relatively small 109-million-euro ZhongDe issue was overscribed 13.5 times as the world's leading emerging markets such as China grow in global economic importance.

The listing is expected to generate net proceeds of about 72 million euros. Last year the company generated sales of nearly 19 million euros.

'The high oversubscription indicates the great interest in particular of the institutional investors which can directly participate in the growth of the Chinese economy via ZhongDe Waste Technology shares,' ZhongDe chief Chen Zefeng said.

ZhongDe Waste Technology has an office in the German port city of Hamburg, which has emerged as a major link between Europe's biggest economy and China.

The operator of the Frankfurt stock exchange, Deutsche Boerse has also been moving in recent years to boost its ties with China's fast-growing business world and promoting the German share market's potential for Chinese companies seeking a listing.