Clawback

Just as China’s domestic markets have finally started to open up through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme, heavily discounted H-share IPOs threaten to put a damper on the attractiveness of A-shares to international investors, writes Philippe Espinasse.

There seems to be no end in sight for the Asian ECM bout of depression. Above all, it’s been a pretty miserable year so far for IPOs, in sharp contrast to new listings activity in other parts of the world. The reasons put forward by market observers to explain the dearth of offerings are several, but in the main remain unconvincing, writes Philippe Espinasse.

As expected, it hasn’t all been plain sailing for Asian IPOs so far in 2015. Macro events, chiefly in Greece and the Middle East, have taken their toll on regional issuance, as have increasing worries about China’s property sector. Even the mighty Alibaba hasn’t been immune to the doom and gloom, its share price in free-fall over a regulatory enquiry, writes Philippe Espinasse.

2014 has come and gone, with a fairly honourable tally for Asia’s busy ECM desks. According to Dealogic, last year's ECM volume on Asia ex-Japan exchanges, and excluding China’s A-share markets, was just under $135bn, more than in each of 2013 and 2012. That good news, however, is worth viewing in the context of a few less positive facts, writes Philippe Espinasse.

Forget about reindeer with shiny noses, fir trees and shopping mall carols. For those in the finance industry, the end of the year takes an altogether different meaning, writes Philippe Espinasse.

Surprise, surprise. The launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme, which had been in the works for months, has recently been delayed. The Through Train has been derailed.

2014 so far has been a bit of a bumper year for IPOs in Hong Kong, despite the well-publicised loss of Alibaba’s landmark listing to the New York Stock Exchange.

The ice bucket challenge has been all the rage on social media recently, but Indian GDR issuers have been taking a cold shower for quite a while longer, writes Philippe Espinasse.

As Hong Kong’s financial marketplace becomes increasingly reliant on the Chinese mainland for its IPOs, Singapore’s big opportunity perhaps lies with international issuers — and those from Southeast Asia in particular, writes Philippe Espinasse.

Amid more deals coming to market in recent weeks, there has been much talk about a potential relaunch in Hong Kong of WH Group’s IPO, a deal that was famously pulled last April after a mammoth syndicate of 29 bookrunners failed to secure interest from investors, writes Philippe Espinasse.

Casinos (and wine) may be all the rage these days in the City-state, but its IPO market appears to be drowning in its Singapore Sling.

The recent overhaul of Hong Kong’s IPO regime has arguably resulted in better quality issuers coming to market. At the very least, it has led to more accurate and comprehensive disclosure in the prospectuses that pile up every week in the lobbies of bank branches.