Mainland initial offerings flourish in splendid isolation

Chinese investors turn to public floats amid falling returns in property, precious metals, virtual currency

Chen Yifeng, a 36-year-old accountant in Shanghai, says he's found China's last sure bet.

It's not the property market, where prices have started falling from record highs, or gold, which left him nursing two years of losses. Returns from trust products are too low, he says, and bitcoin is too risky after the virtual currency tumbled 48 percent from its December high through last week.