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
In December, I reviewed the disappointing volumes last year for primary equity issuance in Southeast Asia, and wondered whether 2016 could be the year when ECM bankers who cover the region become busy again. With the Chinese bourses now in free fall, the authorities there repeatedly depreciating the Yuan in a bid to prop up the economy, and an extension of the ban on equity sales by large investors in Shanghai and Shenzhen, market participants could indeed well turn their attention down South again. 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
As negotiators were busy hammering a provisional deal with Iran’s diplomats over its nuclear facilities, in a bold move, I travelled to the Islamic republic — and returned impressed. The country could well be on the cusp of major changes, but also presents interesting similarities (and differences) with China. 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
I was back in CNBC’s HK studio this morning to comment on the nuclear energy provider’s listing on HKEx. read
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
2014 so far as been a bit of a bumper year for IPOs in Hong Kong, despite the well-publicized loss of Alibaba’s landmark listing to the New York Stock Exchange. According to Dealogic, no fewer than 78 of these have taken place on HKEx year-to-date, for a combined amount of US$17.1 billion equivalent. That’s more than twice the volume of IPOs achieved in the first nine months of 2013, when 43 deals had successfully made it to closing. read
I was on BBC Television’s Asia Business Report again this morning, interviewed by Hong Kong correspondent Juliana Liu. read
Amid more deals coming to market in recent weeks, there has been much talk about a potential re-launch in Hong Kong of WH Group’s IPO, a deal that was famously pulled last April after a mammoth syndicate of 29 bookrunners failed to secure interest from investors. read
