SHENZHEN-LISTED securities firm Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co. dropped 12 percent in a poor Hong Kong stock trading debut Friday, after raising US$1.16 billion in Asia’s biggest listing so far this year.

Shares in Shenwan Hongyuan closed at HK$3.20 (US$0.41), 12 percent below the offer price of HK$3.63, which was also the opening price.

Shenwan Hongyuan raised US$1.16 billion when it sold 2.5 billion shares at the bottom of an indicative range of HK$3.63 to HK$3.93.

Markets have rallied this year, with Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index up 12.5 percent so far after a dismal 2018. The Hang Seng was broadly flat Friday.

Ke Yan, co-head of research at Aequitas Research, said Shenwan Hongyuan’s poor performance was partly due to weak sentiment around mainland brokers. The company’s Shenzhen stock has fallen 3 percent since the Hong Kong offering priced.

“In addition, we think that the IPO was priced at a premium to other brokers,” said Yan, who also publishes on research provider Smartkarma.

Hong Kong had a stellar 2018 in terms of stock market listings, with companies raising US$36.3 billion in the city — the most of any stock exchange globally.

This year, however, is likely to be slower as the stream of companies on the mainland looking to go public thins.(SD-Agencies)