Chinese firms all the rage on Wall Street

Shares of two Chinese firms went flying on Wednesday in their debut on Wall Street, highlighting traders' thirst for stakes in firms based in the world's fastest growing economy. Skip related content

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Dangdang, China's largest online book retailer, boasting an impressive 50 percent hold of the market, saw its shares close at 29.91 dollars, 87 percent higher than their initial price tag.

And Youku.com, the Chinese equivalent of the hugely popular Youtube online video website, fetched 33.44 dollars, a dazzling 161 percent above its offering price.
The shares were American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), instruments representing a foreign stock that is traded on a US exchange, with the move allowing Dangdang to raise 272 million dollars and Youku 203 million dollars.
The two initial public offerings (IPOs) were the first of five planned by Chinese companies in the United States this week, according to a report by Renaissance Capital.
Over the past three months, China-based companies accounted for 18 of the 49 firms to go public in the New York Stock Exchange, raising a total of some two billion dollars in proceeds, the report said.
"Given that many of these deals have been well-received by growth-hungry US investors with an average post-IPO return of 16 percent, China-based ADR activity shows no signs of slowing," Renaissance Capital said.
Peter Cardillo, an analyst at Avalon Partners, emphasized the strong investment potential in the Asian giant.
"The Chinese economy is booming and is probably going to continue to do so, so most companies in China should do well," he said