Topic

IPOi

Latest news and analysis on initial public offerings (IPOs), with a particular focus on companies raising funds on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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While China’s rainmakers have been essential to the country’s great market opening, corruption concerns and a changing geopolitical balance have seen them pushed to the sidelines.

  • China’s new boss at the CSRC is living up to his tough reputation, issuing four new documents governing IPO market behaviour
  • Listing committee members have ‘life-long’ responsibility for any malfeasance, corruption in IPO vetting process

The New York-based bank will continue to invest in Hong Kong, betting that the city where it has been doing business for a century can recover when the economic cycle turns, and live up to its potential as the financial centre of the world’s second largest economy.

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Economic growth and ‘de-risking’ from China are driving investors to Southeast Asia, but just four companies accounted for nearly half of exit values since 2015.

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DreamSmart, the start-up behind smartphone brand Meizu, may seek a valuation of more than US$2 billion for a potential Hong Kong share sale this year, sources say.

M&A activity in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to bounce back by around 10 per cent in the second half of this year after a lacklustre 2023, with India and Japan likely to emerge as winners, EY’s Yew-Poh Mak tells the Post.

Once a lucrative source of fees for investment bankers, new stock offerings have become a source of stress and job insecurity amid a slump in activity. For retail investors, those first-day windfalls are also harder to come by.

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Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin urges market authorities to tighten laws to boost investors’ trust and confidence and the review could include extending a ban on short sales to individuals, in a move similar to those made by China and South Korea.

Here is what colleagues and peers say about Hong Kong-born Chan, the first woman and first internal candidate to serve as CEO. How ready is she for the job at a challenging time for the city’s bourse?

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing delivers an 18 per cent jump in 2023 earnings as CEO Nicolas Aguzin ends his tenure after a tumultuous three years. Aguzin will pass the baton to Bonnie Chan on Friday.

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Shanghai Zhida Technology Development, which makes electric-vehicle charging systems, is working with Shenwan Hongyuan on an IPO, source says. Its systems are used by 70 car brands in China.

Operator of Hong Kong’s largest power utility was buoyed by turnaround in fair value related to forward energy contracts, but still missed estimates for profit, revenue.

The company, a division of British sports car company Lotus Group in which Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding owns a majority stake, will focus on the premium segment despite cheap models dominating the mainland EV market.

Saudi Arabia’s capital market is very attractive in the eyes of global investors, and its authorities are pushing for more regulation to enhance the market’s accessibility and stability, say panellists at the Saudi Capital Market Forum.

The Chinese securities watchdog’s new head, “Broker butcher” Wu Qing, has lost no time in tackling the turmoil that has rocked the country’s stock market, after it hit five-year lows this month, unveiling a slew of proposals aimed at reviving market confidence.

Report by US-China Economic and Security Review Commission finds the value of roughly 256 Chinese companies on US markets slid 17.5 per cent from 2022.

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Once a license to print money, Chinese initial public offerings have been tarnished by opaque finances, scandals and Didi Global’s sudden NYSE delisting in 2022.

Amer Sports, backed by China’s biggest sportswear maker Anta Sports Products, made a winning start in New York trading, valuing the owner of Wilson and Salomon brands at US$6.6 billion.

The government is actively engaging with mainland Chinese regulators to speed up the approval process for companies listing in the city. Measures will also be rolled out to attract family offices and wealthy individuals.

SoftBank expects to book US$8.5 billion, about 425 times the value of its initial Alibaba investment, for its 2024 financial year after divesting more than 500 million shares in the e-commerce giant.

The discount brings the valuation down from US$66 billion during a May 2023 funding round amid tough competition from PDD’s Temu while it also faces political scrutiny in Washington.

The company considered one of Vietnam’s most promising tech start-ups plans to file a new registration in the future, according to a statement to the US SEC.

Shenzhen Gantang Mingshan Catering, which is behind popular Chinese restaurant chains including grilled fish diner Tanyu, could launch an IPO this year, sources say.

The company could sell about 100 million shares in a range of US$16 to US$18 each, and the terms of the IPO may be announced in the coming few days, sources say