Roaring times for China’s tech IPO boom to continue, says PwC
The listing boom of Chinese technology-driven companies is expected to remain intact in the second half of this year, with the domestic market remaining their main fundraising channel, said PwC on Tuesday.
In the first half, a total of 59 Chinese technology, media and telecommunication (TMT) companies sold shares through initial public offerings (IPOs), a surge from 10 a year ago.
In value, the firms raised a combined 25.8 billion yuan (US$3.9 billion) in the first six months, five times the amount a year earlier, said the accounting firm in Shanghai.
The trend is a continuation of a boom that began in the second half of 2016, when there were 58 IPOs of such companies raising a total of 33 billion yuan.
“Small and medium sized enterprises and start-ups have remained active in recent years, and as a result, the number of Chinese TMT IPOs has remained at a high level since the second half of last year,” said Gao Jianbin, PwC TMT leader.
In the first half of this year, only one internet finance company, China Rapid Finance, looked overseas when listing.
Looking forward, PwC said mainland Chinese markets will continue to attract most Chinese TMT IPOs because of the higher valuation offered when compared to overseas markets.
China will continue to be one of the world’s hottest IPO markets for the TMT firms, the accounting firm said.
In the first half, China ranked top of the global league tables for TMT IPOs in terms of the number of listings worth at least US$40 million.
In terms of the total value of funds raised via IPOs for tech companies, the United States held on to the top spot with listings worth US$5.3 billion, followed by South Korea and China.
