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THE first two Taiwanese GDR issues for several months emerged this week to starkly different receptions as investors remain cautious towards the jittery stock market conditions in Taipei.
The $90m issue for IC packager Siliconware was priced at $15.20 per GDR--a 7.9% premium to the stock's close on the day of pricing--while a smaller $40m issue for monitor manufacturer ADI required a 9.5% discount to its local market price to be distributed.
Although the comparison appears dramatic, bankers say Siliconware's issue could proved a better gauge of market sentiment with many believing that the Taiwan market presents a good buying opportunity.
Since Siliconware has already reached its 15% foreign ownership ceiling in the local market, the GDR issue represented the only method for international investors to buy a stock that has proved extremely popular.
According to lead manager BZW, the issue was heavily oversubscribed--to the tune of around 10 times. In active after-market...