Hong Kong expected to ‘stay competitive’ as a top IPO destination in 2020, KPMG says
- City’s bourse could have as many as 160 listings raising about HK$300 billion next year, KPMG says
- KPMG remains ‘optimistic’ about IPO market despite global economic uncertainty
Hong Kong’s initial public offering market, the biggest for capital raising globally this year, is expected to “stay competitive” in 2020 as more Chinese technology companies and international firms are expected to list on the city’s bourse, according to accounting giant KPMG.
KPMG is forecasting as many as 160 new listings will raise about HK$300 billion (US$38.4 billion) next year, in line with this year’s figures. This year’s listings were led by mega offerings from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and Budweiser Brewing Company APAC. Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.
By the end of 2019, the Hong Kong stock exchange is expected to complete 160 IPOs, raising a total of HK$307.8 billion, with its main board listings reaching a historic high of 145, according to KPMG’s IPO markets 2019 review and 2020 outlook report.
“Despite the global economic uncertainty going forward, we remain optimistic about the Hong Kong IPO market in the coming year,” Paul Lau, partner and head of capital markets at KPMG China, said at a media briefing on Wednesday.
Hong Kong saw a number of IPOs postponed this summer as the city has been embroiled in one of the worst political crises in its history. Protests and civil unrest for the past six months have weighed on the city’s economy, hitting the retail and tourism sector particularly hard and sending the economy into a “technical recession” in the third quarter.