Around this time last year, I reviewed the dismal performance of the Hong Kong primary markets, and ventured a guess that investors could instead turn en masse to ECM transactions in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia – and even the Philippines. How wrong I was! read
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
I was back in Hong Kong’s Radio 3 studio for an interview about my debut thriller, “Hard Underwriting”, with anchor Noreen Mir on the lunchtime “123 Show”. read
As Hong Kong IPOs start to make a timid comeback after a long summer lull, I unearthed an interesting working paper entitled “IPO sponsors and prospectus liability: the bridge too far?”, published in August by the Asian Institute of International Financial Law (AIIFL) of the University of Hong Kong. read
The last few months have been a bit of a roller coaster for Chinese equities, both on the mainland and in Hong Kong. The sharp volatility in the indices has frightened investors away and put a damper on primary issuance. But the bubble finally bursting is symptomatic that further changes are badly needed. These also need to be more than just skin deep. read
China-based investment bank China International Capital Corporation (CICC) filed the application for its proposed IPO on the stock exchange of Hong Kong on 22 July. That should put it on track for a hearing by the Listing Committee around the last week of August. But while CICC is the country’s oldest investment bank and has an impeccable pedigree, it has fallen behind new players who have been quicker to adapt to a changing marketplace, and will likely be priced at a conservative valuation. read
At long last, the operator of Hong Kong’s stock exchange has published conclusions to its concept paper on weighted voting rights (WVRs). Almost as soon as it did, Hong Kong’s other regulator expressed its opposition to the idea. But WVRs were always a worrying development. More urgent reforms are needed for the exchange to compare favourably with New York or London. read
Just as China’s domestic markets have finally started to open up through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme, heavily discounted H-share IPOs threaten to put a damper on the attractiveness of A-shares to international investors. read
There seems to be no end in sight for the Asian ECM bout of depression. Above all, it’s been a pretty miserable year so far for IPOs, in sharp contrast to new listings activity in other parts of the world. read
2014 has come and gone, with a fairly honourable tally for Asia’s busy ECM desks. According to Dealogic, last year’s ECM volume on Asia ex-Japan exchanges, and excluding China’s A-share markets, was just under US$135 billion, more than in each of 2013 and 2012. read
