* Stock hits boards at NZ$2.91 vs NZ$2.60 IPO price
* Co plans to use proceeds to reduce debt, fund new wharf
* Second listing on NZX this year after Cannasouth float inJune(Rewrites throughout; adds CEO and analyst comments, backgroundon listing)
By Aditya Soni
Aug 20 (Reuters) - Napier Port Holdings, theoperator of New Zealand's fourth-largest port by containervolume, debuted at a 12% premium to its offer price on Tuesday,as investors scooped up shares in a rare listing on thecountry's bourse.
The country's biggest IPO in at least three years comes amidheightened uncertainty around the U.S.-China trade war that hasaffected trading partners like New Zealand, and contributed toweaker prices of log, the biggest export from the port.
However, Chief Executive Officer Todd Dawson told Reutersthat the port had not seen any slowdown in the actual volumes oflogs moving at this time.
"Talks with forestry sector customers have indicated thatthe recent price slump in log price in particular has stabilisedand there were some signs of recovery as well," he said.
The company, whose port is located on the south coast of NewZealand's North Island, hit the boards at NZ$2.91, giving it amarket cap of NZ$582 million ($373.76 million). The stock wastrading at NZ$3.0 as of 0332 GMT, compared with an offer priceof NZ$2.60 a share.
Napier Port raised NZ$234 million earlier this month, afterpricing its offering at the top end of a NZ$2.27 to NZ$2.60range in an over-subscribed bookbuild.
Jeremy Sullivan, an investment adviser with Hamilton HindinGreene in Christchurch, said investors were attracted to thecompany as "it is a good quality asset and was fairly priced".
The port operator has delivered profit growth for the pasttwo years and will join on NZX bigger peer Port of Tauranga,which has beaten the benchmark for nearly twodecades.
Napier Port is 90% New Zealand-owned at listing and plans touse the proceeds to reduce debt and fund the construction of anew wharf to increase the port's capacity.
"Our main focus is on unlocking a congestion issue and weare firmly on track of needing to expand the port for a wholewider region," CEO Dawson said.
Napier Port is the second company to list in New Zealandthis year, following the smaller float of cannabis firmCannasouth in June, which had ended a two-year IPOdrought on the NZX.
The dearth of new floats has attracted shareholdercriticism, forcing the bourse to take remedial action, includinga partnership with Nasdaq Inc in 2018 to attractoverseas investors.
NZX Chief Executive Officer Mark Peterson told Reuters lastweek that he was aware of more listings as the exchange'sefforts to attract new floats come to fruition.($1 = 1.5571 New Zealand dollars)(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr,Jane Wardell and Subhranshu Sahu)