Bankers in Asia bet on follow-on capital raising

Sales down: A man takes a photograph of a stock board inside the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Equity sales in the region, including IPOs, convertible bonds and follow-on sales, fell 41% to US$49.1bil in the first quarter. — Bloomberg

BANKERS in Asia are betting on newly-listed companies returning to the markets for fresh capital as last year’s flood of initial public offerings (IPOs) slows to a trickle, with 2019 seeing the weakest start in equity sales in three years.

Equity sales in the region, including IPOs, convertible bonds and follow-on sales, fell 41% to US$49.1bil in the first quarter, Refinitiv data show, the slowest since 2016.