The world's biggest stock market debut for 2003 opened on the Australian Stock Exchange today as shares in insurance group Promina rose 10 per cent higher than their float price.
Investors and analysts had expressed concern before the 1.9 billion-dollar initial public offering (IPO) that falling global equities markets were a bad omen and wondered whether British parent Royal and SunAlliance should proceed.
There was also concern over the battering handed to shares in AMP, Australia's largest life insurer, in the past week since the group announced it would split its Australian and British operations, incurring a £1 billion writedown.
But Promina's $50 million, six-week roadshow in Asia, Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand garnered enough investor interest to render the shares four-times oversubscribed.