(Yicai Global) Aug. 19 -- China Telecom is set to float on the Shanghai Stock Exchange tomorrow, but a surprising number of investors have decided not to take up their share allotment, with the abandonment worth a total of about CNY86.4 million (USD13.3 million), the second-highest on record.

China Telecom, one of the country’s biggest telecoms operators, expects to raise up to CNY54.4 billion (USD8.4 billion) from the listing, the most in the Chinese mainland stock market in 10 years, it said in a statement released yesterday evening.

Industry funds and 20 large companies including internet firms have shown enthusiasm for the listing, buying about 5.2 billion shares. Tech giant Huawei Technologies spent nearly CNY1 billion (USD153.9 million) on its subscription, while video platform Bilibili spent CNY500 million.

But the abandonment of shares in Beijing-based China Telecom is still the second-highest after that of Postal Savings Bank of China, which made its Hong Kong debut in September 2016.

The reason may be that Shanghai was priced at CNY4.53 (69.7 US cents) a share, higher than the HKD2.87 (37 US cents) it traded at in Hong Kong on Aug. 9, when the subscription for new shares started.

There was an initial rush of interest in China Telecom’s Shanghai IPO after the company was forced off the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year due to an executive order by the Trump administration barring Americans from investing in companies deemed to have links with the Chinese military.

Founded in 2002, China Telecom’s revenue rose 13 percent to CNY219.2 billion (USD33.7 billion) in the first half, while net profit reached CNY17.7 billion (USD2.7 billion), up 27 percent, according to its semi-annual earnings report. 

China Telecom [HKG:0728] closed down 2.3 percent today at HKD2.93 (37.6 US cents), after retreating 2 percent yesterday.

Editor: Tom Litting