Hong Kong IPOs have dried up as stock prices slump and economic prospects wane.
SHANGHAI: After the worst quarter in five years for Asia-Pacific initial public offerings (IPOs), a pick-up in activity is expected from South Korea, India and Japan while Chinese deals are likely to remain sparse.
New share sales across the region fell to US$11bil between January and March, the lowest tally for a quarter since early 2019, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
The amount represents a 46% drop from the same period last year.
While IPOs returned to major venues in Europe and the United States, the slowdown in Asia was mostly due to Beijing’s decision to ramp up scrutiny of domestic new share sales as it tries to boost confidence in its equities market.
Large deals in Hong Kong also vanished amid concerns about China’s economy. The city hasn’t hosted an offering larger than US$1bil since October 2022.
Syngenta Group withdrew its long-delayed application for a US$9bil initial public offering in Shanghai last week, another blow to China’s equity markets after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd scrapped the listing of its logistics arm.
Elsewhere in the region, new share sales set to raise several hundred million dollars are surfacing.
In South Korea, marine services company HD Hyundai Marine Solution Co and one shareholder are seeking as much as 742 billion won this month.
Even priced at the bottom of the range, it would be the largest IPO in Seoul since early 2022.
India has hosted a flurry of tiny deals since the start of January, drawing scrutiny from regulators during the past month.
With demand for equities in the country remaining high, offerings bigger than US$100mil are expected to be taken to the market.
A shareholder of telecom service provider Bharti Hexacom Ltd is this week set to start selling shares in the company that may raise as much as 42.8 billion rupees.
The pipeline of expected large deals in Mumbai also includes a potential US$1bil offering by Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd. — Bloomberg
