Over the last three years, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) returned six applications for potential IPOs on the main board to their sponsors, effectively in each case freezing the listing process for at least eight weeks. The latest occurrence was in early June this year. read
The recent news that UBS was being investigated by Hong Kong’s SFC in connection with its work as IPO sponsor in the city has taken the local financial community by storm, not least because of the very real possibility that the firm may loose its corporate finance licence – at least for a period of time. read
In this day and age, and amid continued volatile markets, for an IPO to succeed it’s pretty much a pre-requisite to secure cornerstone investors. Not only does their involvement considerably de-risks a transaction by parking away a big chunk of the shares on offer at an early stage; it also provides a high degree of confidence to other institutions – and to retail investors – to encourage them to subscribe to a deal that’s already been taken up by big, visible names. read
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Banking Intelligence) – Hong Kong’s securities watchdog, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), is understood to be about to issue a new consultation paper, in which it will propose tougher due diligence requirements – as well as harsher sanctions for IPO sponsors that fail to follow them. This is likely to face opposition on the part of the securities industry, although since banker-bashing remains in fashion, the new rules should ultimately see the light of day.
Chinese social networking site Renren is hoping to replicate the blowout success of another Chinese internet company, Qihoo 360 Technology, which sold US$176 million worth of shares in March on Nasdaq, the US technology stock market. read
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker)- The report from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) this week couldn’t have come at a more awkward time. Just as Singapore is mounting a challenge to Hong Kong’s dominance in Asian equity capital markets, the regulator has chastised brokers and banks for failing to meet standards as IPO sponsors. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HKEx) thus finds itself in the spotlight at the same time it needs to defend its market share.
