The Australian Financial Review has reported ('Toll-road punters go into reverse' 1.8.08 p.76 by Alan Jury) that 11% of units were dumped at 41 cents (from initial unit cost of $1) when Brisconnections made its debut on the Australian Stock Exchange. Given the inflated traffic projections and under estimates of construction costs associated with these projects it would not be suprising if Brisconnections performs as poorly as RiverCity Motorway Consortium (building the North South Bypass Tunnel). In 2012 when the Airport Link is meant to be complete it is unlikely that Brisbane people will be driving as much as we are now regardless of how much road infrastructure is built. Where are your super funds being invested?

Two articles from the Courier Mail regarding this topic are included below:

Tony Grant-Taylor

July 31, 2008 03:01pm

INVESTORS who backed Brisbane's Airport Link tunnel and toll road

saw 60 per cent of their investment wiped out as it listed on the stock exchange.
The units in Brisconnections, the group funding the tunnel and toll road, opened at 65c.
Units were sold at $1, but with two further $1 instalments due as the $4.8 billion project progresses.

There were sales a little higher at 79c, but the units had slipped lower to be 40c.

The major investors in Brisconnections' $1.2 billion float are institutions, including the giant
Queensland Investment Corp. But between 10 and 15 per cent of the issue went to retail investors.

BrisConnections will pay a 14 per cent dividend in its first year and then 8 per cent until it is completed.
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James McCullough

August 02, 2008 12:00am

INVESTORS have fled the year's largest sharemarket float, with $240 million

wiped off BrisConnections market capitalisation in barely 48 hours.
The price of BrisConnections stapled securities yesterday slumped to a low of 36.5c,
well down on their $1 issue price ahead of its float on Thursday.

The stock ended down 2.5c or 6 per cent at 38.5c on volume of 35.5 million securities.
The fall translates to 20 per cent of the issued stock changing hands in two days.

Queensland Investment Corp, which holds 6.4 per cent, was particularly hard hit, watching
$15 million wiped off the value of its investment since the market debut.

However, the $1.23 billion float of the 6.7km toll road linking Brisbane with the airport
and northern suburbs is shaping up as a bonanza for investment banks, particularly
Macquarie, which stands to reap $110 million in transaction fees.

The bulk of yesterday's selling was thought to have come from institutions cutting their
losses, particularly given two more instalment payments on the securities are required
for BrisConnections of $1 each.

The largest parcel traded was for more than 10 million BrisConnection securities.

Chairman Trevor Rowe said it was hard to tell who was selling as it involved a lot of
nominee companies.

"Clearly, this is a very volatile market with strong negative sentiment but notwithstanding
that this is a company with quality assets," he said.

"It is basically three toll roads built into one across Brisbane's CBD and port to the
airport and what the market is not doing is differentiating the quality of these projects."

Mr Rowe expected that once sentiment settled, buying would come back into the market
because the stock represented a 28 per cent yield on current prices.

He pointed out the contract was guaranteed by Leighton Holdings and "they have not
failed to complete a project in their history".

Analysts said those who subscribed to the issue in May were facing a very different
market today.