Last week, I wrote about the delay in the launch of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical’s long awaited equity offering in Hong Kong. As was expected at the time, bookbuilding finally started on October 16 for what is an accelerated timetable (on account of the upcoming bank holiday) that will now see pricing on October 24, and listing and start of trading on October 30. read

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical last week pushed back the launch of its US$600 million Hong Kong initial public offering from 11 October to, most likely, 15 October – possibly putting it on track for an accelerated marketing timetable. (See my prior column in Money Post on 30 April). read

Milk maker Liaoning Huishan Holdings, also known as Huishan Dairy, has reportedly invited investment banks to submit proposals to lead a Hong Kong initial public offering projected at a size of up to US$1 billion. read

Hong Kong’s IPO drought continues. According to data from Thomson Reuters, the year to date has seen a respectable 42 new listings on the local bourse. But these offers combined raised only US$5.5 billion. read

A hardly noticed piece of news was released by the Hong Kong exchange on August 30: companies incorporated in South Korea will now be allowed to list in Hong Kong. Korea will accordingly join a list of 19 other jurisdictions now recognised by the exchange – on top of the mainland, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and, of course, Hong Kong itself. read

One of the perks of working in an investment bank is – or rather was – a fairly casual approach to expenses. Virtually everything is billable back to the employer, who directly or indirectly passes the expenses onto clients. read