Meanwhile, amid the poor investor sentiment in Hong Kong's IPO market, Henan developer Central China Real Estate (0832) and sportswear retailer Pou Sheng International (3813) are both expected to flop on their respective trading debuts today.

"Gray market trading [yesterday] was very poor," said Prudential Brokerage associate director Kingston Lin King-ham. "Pou Sheng and CCRE will surely plunge below their offer prices [today]."

Wah Kwong said it decided not proceed with its global offering in light of "the current market conditions and the recent instability in the international capital markets." But a source said the real reason was that the company could not agree on the final pricing for its shares. "Wah Kwong hoped to price its IPO at a more aggressive price, while the sponsor of the deal preferred a more conservative price, as it wanted to secure after- market trading," the source said.

Wah Kwong was originally scheduled to start trading next Wednesday.

In the gray market yesterday, Pou Sheng shares closed at HK$3, falling 1.64 percent from their offer price of HK$3.05.

Only about 7,000 shares changed hands on turnover of HK$21,000, indicating that seven investors or fewer participated in trading.

CCRE shares closed unchanged at HK$2.75 in the gray market, with about 28,000 shares changing hands on turnover of HK$77,000.

Phillip Securities (HK) corporate finance officer Dick Lee Tik-man said the trading only involved two investors - in the last 15 minutes.