Hong Kong Defies Market Slump With Record Summer IPO Haul
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong IPO bankers aren't getting much of a break this summer.
The city's market for initial public offerings is in the middle of its biggest summer on record, despite a slumping benchmark stock index and some high-profile disappointments. Companies including Xiaomi Corp. and China Tower Corp. have completed $19.2 billion of first-time share sales since the beginning of June, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
That volume easily surpasses the previous record set in 2010, when companies raised $13.4 billion in the three months through August, the data show. Firms pursued stock sales this year after Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. approved the biggest change to its IPO rules in two decades, opening the door for tech companies with weighted voting rights as well as unprofitable biotech firms like Ascletis Pharma Inc.
While deals are getting done, the Hang Seng Index is trading down about 16 percent from its January high, which has forced companies to adjust their fundraising expectations. The year's two biggest IPOs -- from China Tower and Xiaomi -- priced at the low end of their marketed ranges.
The rest of the year looks like it's going to be equally busy. Meituan Dianping, the Chinese restaurant review and delivery giant, plans to seek about $6 billion after filing in June for a planned Hong Kong listing, people with knowledge of the matter have said. It will be joined by several biotech firms including Innovent Biologics Inc., which is developing treatments for cancer and other ailments, and contract drug researcher Viva Biotech Holdings.
To contact the reporter on this story: Crystal Tse in Hong Kong at ctse44@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Scent at bscent@bloomberg.net, Timothy Sifert
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
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