i-One subscribed 82.9 times
Below expectations but analysts see stock soaring in bullish market.

[SINGAPORE] i-One.Net International's public offer tranche has been subscribed a lower-than-expected 82.9 times, attracting 131,227 applicants and $1.1 billion in application monies.

Analysts contacted by BT expressed surprise at the relatively low subscription rate, although some pointed to the relatively large public float as a possible reason.

The printing company, billing itself as Singapore's first true technology IPO, had offered 160.2 million shares at 38 cents each. Of this, 35.6 million was reserved for the public.

Only 31,796 applicants for the public tranche will receive i-One shares, with 47.31 per cent of the public shares going to investors applying for up to nine lots.

Of i-One's 111.32 million-share placement tranche, 111.1 million shares were taken up, and the remaining 211,000 shares allocated to the public. There were 3,226 successful placees. The 13.2 million reserved shares were fully taken up by 288 applicants.

One analyst, who had called a "stag" on the stock, viewed the unexciting subscription rate as a sign that "some investors might have seen beyond the hype".

Alongside the excitement that had greeted the i-One IPO had been questions about the reliability and viability of the company's interactive booths, which have been touted as the company's launchpad into the electronic-commerce business.

But another analyst noted that investors had sunk 1.7 times the money they did in Allied Components, which had attracted $634.9 million in subscription monies. Allied, which had offered only 8.2 million public shares at 29 cents each, was 268.6 times subscribed. "Sometimes, subscription rates may be a faulty measure," he said.

Despite the mixed signals, analysts agreed that i-One would soar from bullish market sentiment as well as the insatiable appetite for "Internet" stocks. The so-called "grey market" price for i-One's shares has been pegged at above $1, said analysts. One securities house, in an internal memo, has called a "buy" up to $2, or a 426 per cent premium, arguing that the company should command a "hefty" premium to publishing company Panpacmedia.com.

i-One's shares will start trading on a "ready" basis on Monday.

Syndicates ramp up stock on its first trading day: analysts

[SINGAPORE] Buoyed by bullish market sentiment and the craze over Internet-related stocks, i-One.Net International ran up a staggering first-day trading premium of 374 per cent yesterday in what is believed to be a record for a new listing.

From its 38-cent offer price, shares of the printing firm-turned-Internet-darling skyrocketed five times to an early high of $1.90 before closing at $1.80.

Analysts said the stock was being ramped up by syndicates and declined to speculate on how long the current euphoria would last.

"It's a cornered stock; it's easy to push," said one analyst, noting market rumours that syndicates were trying to ramp the stock up to $2 yesterday.

"It's the greater fool theory -- they're buying on momentum, hoping they won't be the greater fool holding it when the stock drops," said another analyst.

i-One shares opened at $1 and shot up to $1.90 before settling to trade between $1.50 and $1.80 before the lunch break. In the afternoon, the stock climbed into a higher band, trading between $1.70 and $1.85 before closing at $1.80. Volume was 116.6 million shares.

i-One had offered 160.2 million shares, of which 35.6 million was reserved for the public.

All eyes had been on i-One's debut yesterday, after its initial public offer met with a lower-than-expected subscription rate of 83 times, compared with 269 times for Allied Components, which made its debut on Friday.

Still, earlier talk of a grey market price of between $1 and $2 had virtually guaranteed i-One's sparkling first-day performance.

This is despite the reservations of many analysts who took a more sober view of i-One's much-touted electronic commerce business.

Questions about the viability of i-One's interactive booths around the island were raised, along with punters' excitement over the stock.

"It's a concept play," said an analyst with a local house. "It's not a tried-and-tested story."

Still, investors can look forward to a 550 per cent jump in gross profit to $9.1 million for the year ending July, as advertising revenue from the booths' panel walls kicks in. i-One has over 202 kiosks installed and plans to boost this to 500 by end-July.

Newsbit furnished by:

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W: www.netshift.com

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