* Sinovel Wind valuations richer than global peers
* China's wind turbine growth seen decelerating -analyst
* Sinovel eyes global top spot in five years -chairman
(Adds closing share price; background)
By Soo Ai Peng
SHANGHAI, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Shares of wind turbine maker Sinovel Wind fell nearly 10 percent in their Shanghai debut on Thursday due to valuation concerns, after raising $1.4 billion in the first major Chinese IPO this year.
But analysts said it was unlikely that the poor debut of the nation's top wind turbine maker by installed capacity will deter other Chinese companies from coming to the IPO market as demand for fresh capital remains high.
Sinovel shares fell mainly due to their rich valuations, analysts said. The weak performance also came at a time when growth in China's wind turbine industry is expected to slow.
"The IPO price was relatively high," said Xu Chao, an analyst with Greatwall Securities in Beijing.
Institutional investors who invested in the Sinovel IPO were optimistic about the company and the sector, said Xu who predicts a fall back in sector growth moving forward.
"For 2011, we are looking at 20 percent growth," he said. The sector grew an estimated 25 percent in 2010.
Sinovel closed at 81.31 yuan a share compared with its IPO price of 90 yuan, after being launched in a down-to-earth listing ceremony lacking the usual fanfare common to a Chinese listing at the Shanghai Stock Exchange earlier in the day. The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.2 percent.
China's wind turbine sector experienced explosive growth in the past few years as Chinese turbine makers, aided by hefty government subsidies, rushed to build new turbines.
China has the world's highest wind power capacity after adding 62 percent or 16 gigawatt (GW) in new capacity last year, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.
The country's total installed wind power capacity reached 41.8 GW at the end of last year, the report said, citing Li Junfeng, secretary general of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association. [ID:nTOE70C04E]
Sinovel sold 105.1 million yuan-denominated A-shares, which were only available to domestic investors, through the IPO.
At 90 yuan a share, the offer price values Sinovel shares at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21 times, based on Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S consensus earnings forecast of 3.57 yuan a share.
Denmark's Vestas Wind , the world's biggest maker of wind turbines, trades at around 15 times, Spain's Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica at 21.11 times and Shenzhen-listed Xinjiang Goldwind at 17 times 2011 consensus earnings forecast. [ID:nTOE70505M]
CAPITAL-STARVED
China was the world's top IPO market in 2010, with companies raising close to 500 billion yuan ($75.72 billion) in proceeds.
China was the host to the world's second-biggest IPO last year when Agricultural Bank of China raised $22.1 billion via a dual-listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The country will see fewer sizeable IPOs this year but the market will remain active as smaller regional lenders, insurers, securities firms and select state-owned enterprises are expected to tap the market, analysts have said.
China will spend $1.5 trillion over the next five years to develop strategic industries, such as the renewable energy sector where the country is trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as its economy roars ahead.
Sinovel expects a more-than-30 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years, Chairman and President Han Junliang told investors this month.
Han, a low-profile engineer who spearheaded Sinovel's aggressive expansions in the past three years, also said the firm aims to displace industry leaders Vestas and GE in the global top spot in five years' time. Sinovel is currently ranked third globally.
Zhong De Securities, the Chinese joint venture of Deutsche
Bank