I was interviewed by Deputy Editor Jasper Moiseiwitsch in the South China Morning Post‘s “Money Post” supplement on 13 June. The article was introduced as “Confessions of an IPO banker” on the cover of the supplement, and the title was “In deal search, simplicity counts”.
Click below to see the interview, which is reproduced with permission.
The Prada growth story is intuitively understood by Hong Kong shoppers. Anyone who has seen the queues at their stylish boutiques has a sense of the profitability and potential of this fashion and luxury goods vendor. read
On 10 June, I gave a presentation to some 180 members of the Hong Kong Securities Institute (HKSI), on “what makes a successful IPO”. read
Those among you who are based in Hong Kong might be interested in two events there next week. read
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – The Royal Bank of Scotland’s and Citi’s announcements this week that they had joined the rather exclusive list of foreign banks trying to crack the booming market for underwriting in China merely points up the limited inroads made so far by most of the would-be entrants. If anything, the advantage tends to run increasingly in favor of domestic Chinese underwriters.
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – Hardly a week passes without a new high-end brand announcing its intention to list in Hong Kong, and the financial pages there are fast reading like a luxury shopping mall directory. After Prada S.p.A., Samsonite, Coach Inc. and Jimmy Choo [since agreed to be sold to Austria’s Labelux], Burberry Group PLC, according to a Chinese media report, is said to be considering a quotation in Hong Kong to support its expansion in China. But such a move, which smacks of herd mentality, would not impact trading volumes or improve the valuation of the company.
“IPO: A Global Guide” featured on 1 June in an article published in the China Economic Review on the subject of the liberalization of China’s financial system, and on the future of Hong Kong as a financial centre.
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – Having postponed a listing in Hong Kong three times (including in March this year), coal and iron ore behemoth Resourcehouse Limited has just delayed the start of the public offer for its multi-billion dollar IPO to May 30, from an initial date of May 26, with pricing now scheduled for June 3. It might be fourth time lucky for the listing this time around, but perhaps CEO Clive Palmer will need to wait – and try yet again.
I appeared on Bloomberg Television today in a live interview with anchor Rishaad Salamat in the “On The Move Asia” show. read
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – Kazakhmys PLC, an LSE-listed natural resources group with its main assets in Kazakhstan, has filed to list in Hong Kong by the end of June. This is aimed at raising its profile in the region, which accounts for almost half of its revenue. With no new money to be raised and no shares to be sold, the deal itself will do little for investors but there may be action for bankers, including M&A and financing deals, down the line.
