Glencore's Hong Kong shares down 2.8 percent on debut

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shares in Glencore International Plc fell as much as 3 percent on their Hong Kong trading debut on Wednesday morning, tracking a lower start in London the previous day and as retail investors found the offer price expensive.

By 9:54 p.m. ET, Glencore shares were trading at HK$64.75 compared with the offer price of HK$66.53 each. Last week, Glencore raised $10 billion through a London and Hong Kong initial public offering, giving the Swiss commodities trader firepower for acquisitions.

Glencore's London-listed shares were stuck under water on their Tuesday debut, dashing hopes of a strong start after it set a mid-range flotation price for London's largest-ever offering.

Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg, who flew from London to attend the Hong Kong listing ceremony, said he hoped to give Hong Kong investors the return they expected on Glencore's stock.

However, retail investors in Hong Kong were not overly excited about the offering, saying they found the price expensive.

"Retail investors are not too enthusiastic about Glencore as they have been more focused on penny stocks with small market capitalizations recently," said Joseph Fong, an associate with Ping An China Securities.

"Glencore is too big for retail investors to have big profit on day one," added Fong, who owns less than 1,000 shares in Glencore.

After months of anticipation, Glencore went public last week with London's largest-ever listing. Analysts and investors had expected a muted debut for the company in Hong Kong after lukewarm response in London.

Founded in 1974 by Marc Rich, a trading sensation who fell afoul of U.S. authorities, Glencore has grown into the world's largest diversified commodities trade, with subsidiaries employing tens of thousands and an oil division with more ships than Britain's Royal Navy.

Commodities price volatility in past weeks prompted market worries over the IPO, but Glasenberg said two weeks ago that the decline in commodities was "due to some froth," downplaying the impact on the transaction.

(Additional reporting Xavier Ng; Editing by Chris Lewis)