The failure to get the roughly $240 million Nasdaq and Gem IPO off the ground has surprised few equity market professionals, despite the illustrious precedents set by its two immediate predecessors China Unicom and China Mobile. Many consequently conclude that Jitong's inability to ride the positive momentum created by China Mobile's recent equity offering, clearly shows that investors are prepared to set boundaries on their previously insatiable appetite for China's telecommunications story. With Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Lehman Brothers as joint lead managers, the company had been hoping to place 7.1994 million H shares and 16.198 million ADS units under respective price ranges of HK$22 to HK$29 and $11.28 to $14.88. At this level, analysts say that the company was hoping to secure a revenue multiple of 20 times 2000 earnings.