At the end of last year, Asian markets were abuzz with talk about bulging equity pipelines and a series of sizeable deals to feed investors hungry for regional equities.
Three months into the year, it seems the lion has yet to roar.
In Hong Kong there have been only five initial public offerings worth a total of $6.09 billion in the first quarter, compared with eight worth $19.6 billion in the same period last year.
In Asia ex-Japan, the value of new equity and equity-linked issuance dropped to US$15.06 billion in the first quarter this year from US$33.85 billion a year earlier, according to preliminary data from Dealogic.
Bankers remain confident that the slower start this year is just a dip, and say more deals will flow into the market as the second quarter progresses. 'The market is extremely vibrant for equities because there is so much liquidity and whereas people previously thought of India, China, Korea and Taiwan as an emerging story, they now genuinely see these countries as long-term sustainable markets and a good way to play the non-US dollar exposure,' said Sumeet Puri, head of Asia Pacific equity syndicate at Merrill Lynch.
'Last year we would do deals with 50 or 100 investors per deal. That number has now grown to 200 to 300,' he said.
