One of the perks of working in an investment bank is – or rather was – a fairly casual approach to expenses. Virtually everything is billable back to the employer, who directly or indirectly passes the expenses onto clients. read
“So where are we going to travel to on the roadshow?” – that’s usually one of the first questions a prospective IPO issuer will ask bankers pitching to lead its flotation. read
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Banking Intelligence)— Singapore Exchange Ltd (the SGX) has just introduced a new set of rules for admission to listing on its main board. This makes perfect sense and also addresses one of the exchange’s key weaknesses: a lack of liquidity caused by the presence of too many smaller, and lower quality, issuers. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) should take notice. read
Graff Diamonds, a high-end jeweller, was supposed to have turned around Hong Kong’s moribund IPO market. It was not to be. Instead the company pulled its US$1 billion-equivalent listing on 30 May, piling more disappointment on an already massively downbeat market plagued by serial deal cancellations. What went wrong?
I was interviewed this morning by anchor Bryan Curtis on Hong Kong’s RTHK 3 radio “Money For Nothing” programme. The topic was IPOs, with a focus on the Facebook flotation on NASDAQ, the aborted Graff Diamonds IPO in Hong Kong – and market conditions generally. read
I was interviewed live today in CNBC’s Hong Kong studio on IPOs in Asia, in particular on the proposed flotations of Graff Diamonds and Formula One in Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively. read
Bankers on May 7 started sounding fund managers on their interest for the long-awaited Graff Diamonds initial public offering. The process, known as pre-marketing or, more commonly these days, pre-deal investor education (PDIE), puts the highly anticipated US$1 billion (approximate) deal on track for a June 7 listing. read
Graff Diamonds – which styles itself as maker and retailer of the “most fabulous jewels in the world” – has just filed its application to listing with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. This means that the offer process for its long-awaited IPO should normally start in about 10 to 12 weeks – which should put it on track for a late spring – early summer listing. read
HONG KONG (Dow Jones Investment Banker) – News last week that Mongolia’s Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, which owns one of the world’s largest coking coal deposits, would drop – for now – Hong Kong as one of the listing locations for its long-awaited IPO came as a surprise to market observers. The reasons probably include a disappointing performance for relevant offerings in Hong Kong, disclosure issues, as well as a comparatively weaker depositary receipt platform. 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
