China firms tap virus-driven liquidity to raise record US$148b in equity deals

Next week, the mainland's JD Logistics Inc is expected to kick off its Hong Kong listing to raise at least $3 billion, the latest in a list of billion-dollar IPOs in the financial hub.

HONG KONG: Chinese companies raised a record $148 billion through global equity capital markets in the first four months of 2021, data showed, as they tapped the ample cash available with investors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That was more than double the sum they garnered from equity markets in the year-ago period and accounted for a fifth of all equity capital raising deals this year, according to data from Refinitiv.