The end of cornerstones?

Cornerstone investors used to be the trusted, fail-safe, mechanism that ensured the success of Hong Kong IPOs. Not anymore. read

Biotech rules unlikely to float cornerstones’ boat

As reported earlier on the GlobalCapital website, the Hong Kong exchange published proposals to enhance its listing framework. These fall into three distinct categories — the establishment of new biotech and weighted voting rights (WVR) chapters, as well as enhancements to the secondary listing rules. read

Belt & Braces for Belt & Road issuers

Last month, in the wake of the appointment of Hong Kong’s new leader, the city’s securities regulator, the Securities & Futures Commission, issued a statement on the listing of infrastructure project companies, particularly in relation to the Belt and Road initiative. read

Churning the sea of milk

To many, the 85% collapse in the share price of China Huishan Dairy Holdings Co on March 24 came as a complete surprise. With now all of the company’s non-executive directors having tendered their resignations (in the process also effectively wiping out Huishan’s audit committee), the company’s key treasury executive still missing, and the controlling shareholder seemingly heading for the exit amid talk of margin calls, the milk producer’s short stint as a public company increasingly looks like a horror story. read

Cornerstone summer party

Readers of this column will be familiar with my occasional ranting about Hong Kong’s cornerstone investor regime, and in particular the doltish six-month lock-up rule which the Singapore Exchange, for one, never saw fit to introduce, and which even Bursa Malaysia ended up ditching, after having initially restricted it to subscriptions representing 5% or more of a company’s share capital. read

Game of thrones in the SAR

Hong Kong IPO issuance has seen healthy volumes so far this year. At US$68.3 billion, according to Dealogic, new listings on HKEx have already reached the level achieved for the entire year in 2014. The outcome of deals, however, remains heavily dependent on cornerstone investors, while oversized syndicates have sadly been back in full force since at least late spring. read

Can the Malaysian tiger roar again?

What has happened to Malaysia’s primary equity markets? Once the darling of ECM departments, featuring highly successful multi-billion dollar offerings by the likes of Petronas Chemicals, Felda Global Ventures or IHH Healthcare, the Southeast Asia nation now languishes at the bottom of the regional league tables. read

When a domestic rally meets an offshore discount…

CGN Power IPO trading debut

I was back in CNBC’s HK studio this morning to comment on the nuclear energy provider’s listing on HKEx. read

Reuters TV interview on the Dalian Wanda IPO

I was interviewed by Reuters TV anchor Pamela Ambler this morning, on the Chinese property developer’s proposed listing in the City, potentially the largest on HKEx this year after that of CGN Power, which starts trading tomorrow. read