Just as Hong Kong has taken over from Japan as the second largest stock exchange in Asia (behind Shanghai), and as larger and better performing IPOs show renewed confidence on the part of investors in the city, Singapore’s primary markets have quietly (and rather worryingly) gone off the grid.
HKEX just released its strategic plan for the next three years, painting itself as the “global markets leader in the Asian time zone”. read
I turn my attention to one of the ECM world’s best-guarded secrets: the profits banks can make from stabilisation.
What once looked like a healthy and steady pipeline of IPOs across Europe and the US has evaporated in a flash. read
Perhaps as a teaser for its New Year resolutions, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange recently published the findings of its latest review of listed issuers’ corporate governance practices, in addition to updated guidance material on environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. read
Clawback columnist Philippe Espinasse says the latest proposals by Hong Kong’s Law Society could spell bad news for international securities lawyers in the city. read
At the end of last month, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange published a consultation paper seeking feedback on a proposed suspension requirement for listed companies with a “disclaimer or adverse audit opinion on their financial statements”. read
A friend of mine, now retired from investment banking and working in private equity, was recently interviewing with one of China’s behemoth institutions in Hong Kong, with a view to potentially returning to his old beat, that is equity capital markets. read
As Asian exchanges increasingly embrace the US model for new listings — the introduction of variable voting rights being a case in point — disintermediated IPOs may perhaps soon be the next fad.
Cornerstone investors used to be the trusted, fail-safe, mechanism that ensured the success of Hong Kong IPOs. Not anymore. read
