Underpricing and aftermarket performance of IPOs in Shanghai, China

Abstract A-share initial public offerings (IPOs) in Shanghai were 289% underpriced, against a mere 26% for B-share IPOs. Regression analysis suggests that the `Chinese characteristic' of high equity retention by the state, a long time-lag between offering and listing and ex-ante risk of new issues were key determinants of market-adjusted IPO underpricing. After controlling for the market comovements, infrequent trading and a higher risk for new issues, the excess returns of overpriced A-share IPOs and B-share IPOs persisted over a long period of time. Rather than being a speculative conjecture, this represents a real phenomenon in that large excess returns accrue in the long run, albeit it meant less negative accumulated returns than the overall market, which had dropped sharply.