Companies and their shareholders across the region raised about $3.89 billion through IPOs since the end of September, Bloomberg-compiled data shows. That’s a drop of 40% versus the same period last year, and the lowest monthly amount since February 2019.
After a bumper year of stock listings, Asian companies might find it hard to repeat the success next year given the prospect of rising interest rates and China’s tightening grip on big tech.
Thanks to a blistering first six months of this year amid a global boom, initial public offerings (IPOs) in the region have reached US$190 billion so far this year, already a record and up 31 percent from the whole of last year.
However, the momentum has weakened notably in the past few months, as Beijing escalated a regulatory assault on private enterprises, putting major deals on hold and
Grab, Southeast Asia’s biggest ride-hailing and delivery firm, was to make its market debut yesterday, after a record US$40 billion merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a listing that is to set the tone for other regional offerings.
The backdoor NASDAQ listing marks the high point for the nine-year-old Singaporean company that began as a ride-hailing app and now operates across 465 cities in eight countries, offering food deliveries, payments, insurance and investment products.
Grab’s rivals, including regional Internet firm Sea Ltd and Indonesia’s GoTo Group, are also bulking up, with the region’s internet economy forecast to double to
Asia has had its best third quarter on record for initial public offerings (IPOs), even with Hong Kong turning quiet as many firms put listing plans in the regional powerhouse on hold amid China’s sweeping regulatory clampdown.
Thanks to blockbuster deals in markets like South Korea and India, first-time share sales in the region raised US$56 billion in the three months through Thursday, the most ever for such a period, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
“Activity will continue 2021 remains an extraordinary year for equity capital markets volume,” said William Smiley, cohead of Asia ex-Japan equity capital markets at Goldman Sachs