2014 so far as been a bit of a bumper year for IPOs in Hong Kong, despite the well-publicized loss of Alibaba’s landmark listing to the New York Stock Exchange. According to Dealogic, no fewer than 78 of these have taken place on HKEx year-to-date, for a combined amount of US$17.1 billion equivalent. That’s more than twice the volume of IPOs achieved in the first nine months of 2013, when 43 deals had successfully made it to closing. read
As Hong Kong’s financial marketplace becomes increasingly reliant on the Chinese mainland for its IPOs, Singapore’s big opportunity perhaps lies with international issuers – and those from Southeast Asia in particular. read
I was on BBC Television’s Asia Business Report again this morning, interviewed by Hong Kong correspondent Juliana Liu. read
Amid renewed IPO activity in Hong Kong, carrier Hong Kong Airlines is believed to be working on a yuan-denominated new listing of up to US$500 million equivalent. If confirmed, this would make it only the third issuer there to list shares in Chinese currency. read
Amid more deals coming to market in recent weeks, there has been much talk about a potential re-launch in Hong Kong of WH Group’s IPO, a deal that was famously pulled last April after a mammoth syndicate of 29 bookrunners failed to secure interest from investors. read
I gave a video interview to Asia banking reporter Enda Curran from the Wall Street Journal. read
The recent overhaul of Hong Kong’s IPO regime has arguably resulted in better quality issuers coming to market. read
Another week, another Hong Kong IPO with a silly number of bookrunners on the tombstone. read
I now write “Clawback” for GlobalCapital (formerly known as EuroWeek), a new column dissecting topics in Asia’s equity capital markets. read
Fast Retailing, the Japanese owner of fashion brands Uniqlo, Theory, Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse tam.tam, listed depository receipts in Hong Kong on March 5. read
