Last week’s news was all about Goldman Sachs and Bank of America materially trimming their investment banking platforms in Asia, as margins for bulge bracket houses in the region have gradually eroded in the face of intense competition by Chinese brokers. 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
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
Another week, another Hong Kong IPO with a silly number of bookrunners on the tombstone. read
I was back in Hong Kong’s RTHK 3 radio studio this morning, interviewed by anchor Reenita Malhotra Hora in the “Money for Nothing” programme, to talk about Chinese IPOs, both in the mainland and in the Special Adminstrative Region. read
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – With market volatility comes caution, and IPO syndicates are no exception. Internationally and in Asia, these are increasingly becoming crowded at the senior end for sizeable transactions in particular. Junior underwriters, whose contribution remains marginal, are being squeezed out. read
The total number of shares subscribed for by cornerstone investors in Glencore’s IPO, which is targeting proceeds of about US$10 billion (excluding a 10% over-allotment option), is expected to represent approximately 31% of the global offer, assuming the overallotment option is not exercised. The US$3.1 billion tranche therefore represents one of the largest cornerstone books by value ever achieved for an IPO. But there are consequences to the practice, which could come back and haunt the issuer as well as other investors in the company. read
