Sichuan Expressway shares double in Shanghai debut

SHANGHAI, July 27 (Reuters) - Shares in China's Sichuan Expressway (601107.SS) jumped 111 percent in their listing debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday, buoyed by the company's strong growth prospects, a relatively low IPO price and the fact that it was the first listing on the bourse since last August.

Local-currency A shares in Sichuan Expressway (601107.SS), which is also listed in Hong Kong (0107.HK), kicked off trading at 7.60 yuan, up from their IPO price of 3.60 yuan.

The opening price was much more stronger market expectations. A Reuters survey of six industry analysts last week predicted the firm's Shanghai A shares (601107.SS) would trade around 5.0 yuan on Monday, up 40 percent from their IPO price. Even the highest forecast of a wide range was only at 6.0 yuan.

The toll road operator raised 1.8 billion ($264 million) in its Shanghai initial public offering (IPO) earlier this month, which was 414 times subscribed in its key retail portion.

Its issue of 500 million yuan-denominated A shares, or 16.35 percent of its expanded share capital, is mainly to purchase expressway assets from its controlling shareholder. ($1=6.83 Yuan) (Reporting by Lu Jianxin and Edmund Klamann; Editing by Valerie Lee)