Police had to be deployed to control the thousands who clamoured for applications at its launch. On Monday, thousands more Hong Kongers again jostled for a slice of two new hi-tech ventures as huge queues formed for applications for the share offerings of Sunday Communications - a mobile phone operator and SuneVision, the E-business arm of one of Hong Kong's top property companies.

But the tendency of Hong Kong investors to buy into hi-tech stocks without any knowledge of their business fundamentals is causing concern among government authorities and market analysts alike. Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa joined a chorus of appeals for calm, warning investors to be cautious when playing with dotcom stocks. "I hope everyone will be very careful. I hope investors can fully understand the business and operation of a company before they want to invest in it. The amount of their investment should be within their affordable level," he said, adding, "There are ups and downs in the market. We don't want to see bubbles, but sometimes bubbles are inevitable in the market."

Roger Pyrke of BZW Investment Management put it more bluntly: "Investors will lose a lot of money, that is the downside of investing in high-risk stocks." The recent frenzy could be an indication that the market may be setting itself up for a future correction, he told AFP. In the worst case scenario, the investors could reel in disappointment as markets crash and the economic recovery witnessed by Hong Kong in the last 12 months suffers a major setback. But, he said, the high-tech stock fever will persist for a while.

"It is difficult to know when the correction will occur and what will set it off," added David Lui, director of Schroder Investment Management Hong Kong. This is because capital is still rushing into the technology sector and fund managers are under pressure to move money out of the old economy stocks into E-stocks. Pyrke advised investors to do their homework and choose quality share issues, but he was convinced his advice would fall on deaf ears as "greed is now the overriding factor".

-- AFP