A lesser people would be stuffing their money into a mattress. Hong Kongers are stuffing it into Chinese companies, the so-called red-chip stocks that have been setting sales records this month.

You would naturally imagine that companies with big investments in China (the new Hong Kong) had higher multiples than companies with property and other interests mainly in Hong Kong itself (the old Hong Kong). You will be surprised to learn that the smaller companies, among the so-called red chips, are remarkably cheap, on multiples far lower than the market average.

Investors this week are presented with a diverse menu of five initial public offers.

At one end, the big "red chip" China Overseas Land and Investment, a subsidiary of the mainland's China State Construction and Engineering Corporation, will be tapping the market for $ 844 million.