Remember when Web-based learning provider ChinaEdu (Nasdaq: CEDU ) went public earlier this week, shedding roughly 20% of its value on its first day of trading? That brought to mind some of the more combustible IPOs out of China that we've seen in recent months. Other e-learning enablers, fast-growing online gaming stocks, and even a China-based jeweler have washed up on our shoreline exchanges, only to soak the frontline of first-day investors.
It's not pretty. I think the IPO burnout hit home when Xinhua Finance Media (Nasdaq: XFML ) went public back in March. The stock opened at its $13 IPO filing price, but it's been all downhill from there.
It didn't seem possible at first. How could a company providing financial news coverage in a country where equities speculation was running wild not thrive? Well, executive defections, layoffs, and uninspiring financials have been stapled to Xinhua, to the point where it's now trading at half of its original price.
If the Chinese equity market needed a spark, it may have gotten it on Tuesday, when apartment developer Xinyuan Real Estate (NYSE: XIN ) and software specialist VanceInfo Tech (NYSE: VIT ) climbed 20% and 17%, respectively, on their first day of trading.
Is there a theme running between managing rentals and cranking out enterprise software applications? No. The one thing that both stocks have in common is that they hail from China.
Then again, let me take that back. There is another common thread here. Both companies are consistently profitable, posting juicy double-digit net profit margins so far this year. That is a trademark of China's winning stocks. When you blend attractive labor costs with lax taxation rates, chunky margins are possible even before you toss in the catalyst of China's clear growth potential.
So can it be? Can China's stock market be put back on the global pedestal through the handiwork of its freshly minted foot soldiers? Xinyuan and VanceInfo aren't going to do it alone. Mobile television advertising specialist VisionChina Media (Nasdaq: VISN ) went public at $8 last week. It is now trading 10% higher. Why, even ChinaEdu is clawing its way back to the head of the class. It has a long way to go, but it has made up more than half of its Tuesday losses over the past two trading days.
And yesterday we had WSP (NYSE: WH ) go public at $8.50. The Chinese manufacturer of parts for the oil industry inched its way up to post meager gains on the day.
This is just what China needs, really. A steady flow of feasible companies posting reasonable advances. Things got too wacky with the mania. The breathtaking highs and heartbreaking lows were fun to watch but painful to live through for investors.
So here's to you, Wall Street's newest tickers. May everyone profit from the calm between the storms.
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