Investment opportunities abound in Chinese start-ups as their valuations have fallen alongside publicly listed companies amid the coronavirus pandemic, say venture capitalists.

The Swiss bank is no longer one of the sponsors for the Chinese health care company’s US$700-800 million planned IPO in Hong Kong, creating more room for Asian investment banks in deals.

Asian tycoons and private equity funds are driving privatisation bids at the same pace as when stock prices slumped during the Sars outbreak in 2003, deal bankers say.

Managers face a triple whammy of yo-yoing markets, redemptions by investors and margin calls from brokers.

As one market index after another continued to plumb new lows, brokers, strategists and bourse operators alike agreed on one thing: the consequence of stopping transactions entirely would be worse than any short-term breather, both to economic stability and to stock prices.

Global investment firm KKR is building a team and raising funds for technology deals across the Asia-Pacific region, and has named Lucian Schoenefelder to spearhead the effort.

Passive investors using index-tracking ETFs are now a major force in markets. The scale and speed at which they sell is one reason that markets are falling so fast.

The frustration of China’s largest ride-hailing platform to route money across continents during the coronavirus pandemic shows how banks must digitise to cope with disruption.

Some of China’s fastest-growing companies are seeking billions of dollars in loans as the new coronavirus hits economic growth. Only the largest and strongest will secure capital.

CP Group secured funding to acquire Tesco’s businesses in Thailand and Malaysia, showcasing the resilience of bank liquidity in the Asian banking market even as new coronavirus batters Thai economy.

Hong Kong-based financial services group AMTD plans to list its financial technology assets through a stock offering in Singapore and the US, including a nascent virtual banking platform that spans the Asian region, sources say.

Waymo has amassed a US$2.25 billion war chest from parent Alphabet Inc and other investors to fund its self-driving vehicles and take on competitors like Pony.ai and Baidu.

Risk analysts pinpoint the heightened vulnerabilities of governments and companies to data leaks as they figure out how to operate virtually during the coronavirus epidemic.

The 45-year-old Italian will drive the Wall Street bank’s operations across 17 markets in the region.

The British insurer needs to break up into two publicly listed companies focused on the US and Asia to boost shareholder value, said activist investor Third Point.

PepsiCo’s purchase of a Chinese brand gives it deeper insight into the local fast-moving consumer goods industry – something the US multinational can replicate in other markets.

The financing freeze is a blow to entrepreneurs and innovation at start-ups in the world’s second-largest economy.

Tensions in the former British colony steadily ratcheted up during eight months of anti-government protests, and are now being amplified by the outbreak of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Chinese companies are buffering themselves against fallout from the epidemic by loading up on US$4.1 billion worth of debt, prolonging record levels of offshore capital raising since the start of the year.

Hong Kong has much at stake. It was the world’s top listing venue last year for the eighth time in 11 years, raising over US$40 billion for companies last year to put to work in Asia’s relatively fast-growing economies.