China's much-hyped unicorn funds launched, but get a poor response

Once marketed with great fanfare as an “epoch-making gala for investors,” the six Chinese “unicorn” funds quietly began operations on Monday - alongside Xiaomi Corp’s lacklustre Hong Kong debut - after raising just one third of their original targets. The six funds, launched to support mainland listings of home-grown tech firms such as smartphone maker Xiaomi and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, originally sought to raise 300 billion yuan ($45.33 billion) from retail and institutional investors. But they ended up with only 104.9 billion yuan among them, according statements published over the weekend, despite a massive marketing effort orchestrated by Chinese regulators. The shortfall reflects reduced appetite for much-hyped tech IPOs in a market roiled by trade war fears. And investors are showing some distrust toward funding projects orchestrated by the Chinese government. The funds were promoted as a special opportunity for mom-and-pop investors, who are allowed for the first time to participate in tech IPOs as cornerstone investors along with institutions.