Offerings offer silver lining to investors

Chinese mainland stocks may be tumbling at the fastest pace in seven years, but one part of the $5.2 trillion market is hotter than ever: initial public offerings.

The six mainland companies that took bids from IPO investors over the past two weeks attracted orders worth 7.1 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion), more than the value of Australia's entire equity market.

The offerings - the first under new rules that allow investors to bid without making upfront deposits - were oversubscribed by more than 1,800 times on average.