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| Royal Mail shares jump sharply on market debut | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Royal Mail shares rose more than 38% to 456p at the start of conditional dealings on the London Stock Exchange. | |
| The hugely oversubscribed sale was priced at 330p per share at the top of its expected range and valuing the near 500-year-old company at £3.3bn. | |
| After about 30 minutes into trading, the price eased back to 445p. Private investors received 227 shares each. | |
| The shares are listed officially next Tuesday, but City institutions began conditional dealings on Friday. | |
| Some 10 million shares were traded in the first 30 seconds when the market opened. | Some 10 million shares were traded in the first 30 seconds when the market opened. |
| The price rise is likely to fuel debate over whether the sale of Royal Mail has been undervalued. Vince Cable, business secretary, has insisted that the taxpayer has not been short-changed by the privatisation. | The price rise is likely to fuel debate over whether the sale of Royal Mail has been undervalued. Vince Cable, business secretary, has insisted that the taxpayer has not been short-changed by the privatisation. |
| But the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, Billy Hayes, described the sell-off as "a tragedy" and predicted that it would make "not one scintilla of difference" to employees' intention to vote for strike action next Wednesday. | But the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, Billy Hayes, described the sell-off as "a tragedy" and predicted that it would make "not one scintilla of difference" to employees' intention to vote for strike action next Wednesday. |
| Mr Hayes told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This is a sham, really. The company has been under-valued. | Mr Hayes told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This is a sham, really. The company has been under-valued. |
| "It's basically David Cameron rewarding his mates in the City. Vince Cable, one of the cleverest men in British politics, has made one of the stupidest decisions he is ever likely to make as a politician." | "It's basically David Cameron rewarding his mates in the City. Vince Cable, one of the cleverest men in British politics, has made one of the stupidest decisions he is ever likely to make as a politician." |
| Voting in the strike ballot will close on 16 October. Under the current rules on industrial action, the earliest possible date for a strike is 23 October. | |
| In the flotation prospectus, Royal Mail warned that labour unrest posed a potential risk for the share price. |