bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Jodi Xu Klein

More Chinese companies are expected to go public in the US in 2018, despite a recent lull in the online lending sector amid regulatory pressure from Beijing.
“We foresee the number of China listings to be materially higher in 2018, with a 25 to 30 per cent jump from 2017,” Bob McCooey, senior vice-president of Nasdaq’s Listing Services unit, told the South China Morning Post.
The expected surge in Chinese initial public offerings in the US picks up from last year, when the number doubled from 2016.
Seventeen Chinese companies held IPOs on Nasdaq in 2017, up from seven in 2016, according to data provided by the US exchange. Thirteen are on file to be listed.
In total, about 110 companies are listed on Nasdaq from China, including e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings Limited and online shopping centre JD.com Inc.
Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

With the exception of 2012, China, Asia’s largest economy, has been the top lister of IPOs among all non-US companies in every year since 2007.
And the appetite for US IPOs has continued to grow over the last decade as the country’s budding tech sector has matured.
Sectors that prop up a strong early 2018 pipeline include data centres, streaming businesses, education, life science, wearables and enterprise technology providers, McCooey said.
One very large Chinese company, expected to raise billions of US dollars in an IPO, is expected to go public in the first quarter, McCooey said, declining to disclose the enterprise’s name.
Hong Kong set to lose global IPO crown to New York and Shanghai as fundraising halves
Among companies possibly eyeing an IPO this year, according to recent news reports, are two Chinese tech unicorns, or start-ups valued above US$1 billion: ride-sharing service provider Didi Chuxing and e-commerce website Meituan-Dianping.
“We don’t try to convince people to list outside their countries because most businesses belong locally,” McCooey said. “But companies that have a global ambition and offshore businesses are our obvious clients.”
Recent tension between the US and China can spook investors and dampen the demand for Chinese IPOs. Nevertheless, the US remains the most liquid market for Chinese companies seeking growth capital.

Many Chinese companies have experienced dramatic growth on the US market.
The market capitalisation of Weibo, a microblogging service owned by Sina, for example, has increased to close to US$29 billion (HK$226.82 billion) from US$4 billion (HK$31.3 billion) at its 2014 IPO. 
Weibo’s stock jumped 19 per cent in its first day of trading in April 2014.
Not all companies have seen such gains. 
Chinese companies specialising in offering consumer loans have come under pressure since late last year as the Chinese government took steps to rein in the fast-growing and lightly regulated market by restricting the number of new approvals it issued for such lenders.
Shares tumbled in some Chinese financial technology companies as a result, leading to a pause in new listings in the sector.
Why Chinese companies are flocking to the US for a listing
As China moves from a saver’s generation to a spender’s generation, the need for the lending market is here to stay
Bob McCooey, Nasdaq
For example, Chinese online lender Qudian Inc lost two-thirds of its value in seven weeks, falling to US$11.49 in December. Fintech company Hexindai.com’s stock has dropped 25 per cent over the past two months to trade at about US$11.50 this week.
“Chinese fintech was hot, then it was not,” McCooey said. 
“Regulatory changes are always the risk about investing in Chinese companies. But as China moves from a saver’s generation to a spender’s generation, the need for the lending market is here to stay,” he said.
For 2018, McCooey said he saw China as a country with more opportunities than challenges.
“The country has great tech companies and a strong entrepreneurial culture,” he said. The companies’ founders “will be recognised globally when they are listed here”.


Southeast Asia’s rich buy sky garages while the middle class lose their homes

Hongkong Land’s leasing deal with law firm Harneys a sign of ‘flight to quality’

Tencent quits Paramount’s Warner Bros bid amid US regulatory concerns

Hong Kong’s MPF marks 25 years with strong returns, ‘growing public confidence’

Investing

Chinese IPOs in US expected to soar in 2018 despite Beijing regulatory pressure

Data centres, streaming businesses, education and life science among sectors boosting early 2018 pipeline

***ONE TIME USE ONLY, PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE RE-USE - OTUO*** A photo illustration showing a webpage of JD.com. 10MAR14

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 17: China's Weibo CEO Charles Chao (center) stands with Robert Greifeld, Nasdaq CEO, moments after Weibo began trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol WB on April 17, 2014 in New York City. Weibo Corp, a Twitter-like messaging service company, priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $17 per American Depository Share (ADS). Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

More Chinese companies are expected to go public in the US this year, according to Nasdaq’s Bob McCooey. Photo: Handout

News

China

World

Business

Companies

Money

Markets & Investing

Money & Wealth

United States & Canada

Data centres, streaming businesses, education and life science among sectors boosting early 2018 pipeline


Chinese IPOs in US expected to soar in 2018 despite Beijing regulatory pressure

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Data centres, streaming businesses, education and life science among sectors boosting early 2018 pipeline

Data centres, streaming businesses, education and life science among sectors boosting early 2018 pipeline