Reference News Network reported on December 17 that the US media said that the funds raised by Chinese companies in initial public offerings (IPOs) at home and abroad are unprecedented, accounting for nearly 40% of the total global IPOs, partly because the country was the first to overcome the epidemic.
Chinese companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States, Hong Kong, China and the Mainland accounted for 37% of the total new shares this year. This is the year when China’s share of global IPOs has been the highest since the 2009 global financial crisis weakened US listing activities.
Francesco Lavatelli, head of equity capital markets for the Asia Pacific region of JP Morgan Chase, said: “China is clearly the fastest recovering among the world’s major economies this year.”
The report also said that despite the continued raging COVID-19 pandemic, people’s worries about weakening capital market activity have disappeared. Companies affected by the COVID-19 lockdown have raised funds at record levels to support their balance sheets. On the other hand, central banks in various countries have injected a large amount of liquidity to deal with the economic losses caused by the new crown pneumonia, and low interest rates have stimulated investors’ interest in new stock issuance.
According to reports, the amount of IPO financing on the American Stock Exchange this year also hit a record high. A total of about $173 billion in financing came not only from the listing of American technology startups such as Airbnb and Dordash, but also from Chinese electric car manufacturers. Xiaopeng Motors and online real estate brokerage company Shell, etc.
reported that most Chinese companies that went public this year have some technological factors. The chip manufacturer SMIC went public in Shanghai in July and raised US$7.5 billion. This is the largest IPO of a Chinese company this year, followed by the second listing of NASDAQ-listed JD.com in Hong Kong in June. The amount raised was approximately US$4.5 billion.
Uday Fultado, co-head of Asian equity capital markets at Citibank in Hong Kong, said: “Investors are looking for sustainable growth opportunities. The following three themes are: technology, healthcare and China.”
