Word: gems
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...Instead, government planners are banking on GEM to help SMEs get access to capital, augmenting previous initiatives such as the Small and Medium Enterprises Board that the Shenzhen bourse set up in 2004 and state funding for the domestic private equity sector to supply SMEs with venture capital and other funding. GEM, in particular, is regarded as a platform to jumpstart ventures that could dominate China's post-crisis economic environment, in which heavy industry and manufacturing is supposed to take a back seat to higher "value-added" and consumer-focused businesses. It is no coincidence that some in local...
...stock market board when the prospects for the global economy look so uncertain and investors appear to be souring on IPOs? Like many other counter-intuitive decisions in the communist state, this one also has a method to the seeming madness. It may not look like it, but GEM is actually an important plank in a campaign to tackle one of the country's most pressing predicaments: how to nurture small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which create nearly eight out of 10 jobs, pay 50% of taxes and account for 60% of gross domestic product...
...question is whether GEM will be more effective than the banking sector in meeting the funding needs of SMEs. Prospective GEM companies certainly hope so. The 10 enterprises initially aimed to raise around $490 million, but doubled the target after IPOs like Bawang were accorded high valuations. Based on their aggressive IPO pricing, the average price-earnings ratio of the 10 stocks is estimated at 55 times 2008 profits, higher than the average p/e ratio of 40 times asked by the 10 companies that most recently listed on the SME Board. (See pictures of Shanghai today...
...There are indications that investor interest may not be as strong as expected. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange says less than 200,000 GEM accounts have been opened, far fewer than anticipated. But there are reports of queues in Beijing and Shanghai, where some brokerages say they have extended working hours to accommodate demand. Because GEM companies are seen as riskier than those on other boards, only longtime investors are encouraged to participate, although brokerages can register those with less than two years' investing experience on a case-by-case basis...
...perceived higher risks emanate from GEM's lower listing thresholds compared with those at the main boards in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong - and even the SME Board in Shenzhen, which requires IPO applicants to have at least three years' operating history and profits. GEM may consider for listing a company that turned a profit of as low as $730,000 in the previous one year, provided total sales exceeded $44 million. (See pictures of the making of modern China...