PCCW Ltd raised HK$9.3 billion ($1.2 billion) in an initial public offering of its telecommunication business trust after selling units at the bottom end of a marketed range.

The company sold 2.05 billion units in HKT Trust at HK$4.53 apiece, according to a stock exchange statement on Wednesday. The price implies a dividend yield of about 9 percent, people with knowledge of the matter said earlier.

PCCW’s billionaire Chairman Richard Li struggled to draw investors to Hong Kong’s first business trust even after offering a yield that beats most real-estate trusts listed in the city. Shares of companies that went public in Hong Kongthrough IPOs have dropped an average 20 percent from their offer price, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

“Retail investors were not that interested in this deal because they don’t have a long investment horizon,” Alan Kam, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets Co who rates shares of PCCW “outperform”, said in an interview on Wednesday. “If the stock market is volatile, long-term investors will look for defensive investments like the PCCW trust.”

HKT Trust units were originally offered at HK$4.53 to HK$5.38 each, according to an IPO prospectus.

“Despite the very challenging macro-economic environment and financial markets during the roadshow, HKT has attracted a broad list of globally renowned institutional investors who appreciate the high quality, defensive nature of HKT,” Alex Arena, PCCW’s managing director, said in an e-mailed message distributed by public relations firm Brunswick Group Ltd on Wednesday.

Li subscribed for about 12.6 percent of the units on offer, according to a Nov 21 filing to the exchange. Underwriters considered pricing below the bottom of the range because of insufficient demand just hours before the order book was closed, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Listing as a business trust will allow HKT Trust to pay out a high proportion of income from slow-growth services, including fixed-line phone connections and broadband Internet. Companies typically pay dividends out of profit, while a business trust allows for distributions from cash flow. HKT Trust will start trading Nov 29, according to the prospectus. The offering will help PCCW repay debt and fund investments, the company said in a Sept 25 statement.