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SpaceX’s whopping US$75 billion IPO sparks liquidity fears as Fed rate-increase odds rise

The blockbuster offering’s repercussions could be far-reaching, drawing capital away from Hong Kong and the broader Asia-Pacific region

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The SpaceX Starship sits on the launch pad ahead of its sixth flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on November 17, 2024. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS
Zhang Shidongin Shanghai
Global initial public offering (IPO) markets are hunkering down ahead of SpaceX’s US$75 billion flotation, as billionaire Elon Musk’s commercial aerospace unit is set to siphon off capital and tighten liquidity amid rising expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates to curb inflation.
With investor demand expected to be overwhelming, the offering on Wall Street could be the world’s biggest-ever, exceeding Saudi Aramco’s US$29.4 billion in 2019. SpaceX’s IPO would already be more than twice as large as the combined US$37.2 billion of IPOs sold in Hong Kong in 2025. The city was ranked the biggest IPO market in the world last year.

“Liquidity conditions may become unfavourable for IPO markets, including Hong Kong,” said Wang Zheng, chief investment officer at Jingxi Investment Management in Shanghai. “Lots of investors will have their eyes on the SpaceX IPO and that may cause some outflows from the markets across emerging nations and the Asia-Pacific region in preparation for subscriptions.”

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The repercussions of SpaceX’s blockbuster offering could be far-reaching and reshape the financial market landscape. Given that the commercial aerospace company has chosen to list on the Nasdaq, Hong Kong was poised to lose its title as the world’s busiest IPO market to the US this year. The deal may also test liquidity levels that broadly supported elevated global tech stock valuations, especially with persistent oil shocks having fuelled expectations of a resurgence in inflation.

Tech stocks in Asia might already be feeling the pain. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell more than 2 per cent on Thursday and China’s Star Market 50 Index tumbled nearly 4 per cent, partly reflecting the effects of being squeezed out by the SpaceX IPO. In the US, the record-setting run also lost momentum, with key stock gauges moving sideways amid the likelihood that some investors may have unwound their positions in existing shares ahead of the SpaceX IPO.

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That added to liquidity concerns among investors after the yield on the 30-year US Treasury exceeded 5 per cent, as rising energy costs fed into the economy following the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran at the end of February.

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