The epicenter of global initial public offering activity has shifted east to China as waves of volatility and slumping stock markets have sent virtually all sizeable listings in the US into limbo
The $104 billion raised by stock listings in Asia this year is a record for the region. The US IPO market is the lowest on record for what has traditionally been the busiest listing market in the world.
The highest percentage of global volumes on record can be found in Asia.
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Chinese IPOs have continued to come thick and fast even as rising interest rates and the prospect of a recession put a lid on first-time share sales in most major markets The data shows that six of the 10 largest listings this year were from Chinese companies.
The IPO epicenter in terms of volume has shifted east as the world deals with inflation and global tensions. There are some large Hong Kong IPOs lined up to possibly test markets before the end of the year.
In the US, which accounted for more than half of last year's record $657 billion of IPO proceeds, the market has come to a halt as inflation fears and heightened volatility cause investors to steer clear of the high-growth companies that typically dominate IPO activity.
The unwelcoming market conditions have forced highly anticipated listings to be pushed back or scrapped completely. Until this week, there had been only one billion dollar offering in New York this year.
The kind of market David Ethridge is talking about is where people just say there's capitulation. Right now, it is happening. Maybe they don't want to fight at the board level about getting the process started when we don't hear anything good about IPOs
There was an exodus of IPO candidates from China due to the delayed US deals. The amount of money raised in New York by companies from China or Hong Kong is less than a year ago.
As Beijing and Washington worked to iron out an agreement on allowing US regulators to inspect Chinese audits, the number of US IPOs by Chinese firms slowed.
US-traded Chinese companies raised tens of billions of dollars through share sales in Hong Kong and mainland China because of the prospect of forced delisting. They were drawn to higher valuations back home.
Zili Guo said that the A-share market is immune to global volatility. Domestic money is the main driver of the market. The market condition in the A-share market is stable and can still print deals.
Some of Asia's biggest listings were by companies that have left New York. Both China Mobile and CNOOC sold their shares in the city.
There are signs of activity in Hong Kong. CALB Co., a Chinese battery maker, is trying to gauge demand for a potential $2 billion IPO in the city, while the electric-vehicle maker is looking to start taking investor orders for a $1 billion offering.
Despite a preliminary agreement on the auditing issue in the US, there are doubts that the flow of Chinese companies to New York will return to previous levels.
There are more options for Chinese issuers when it comes to offshore funding. An A-share IPO is the first thing they can do. The stock link between China and Europe could be used by the companies.
Europe is becoming a more appealing place for Chinese firms to list. More than $2 billion has been raised by mainland firms in Europe this year through the stock link between China and Europe.
There is a huge deal around the corner in Europe that could double the region's IPO proceeds. The sports-car maker could be worth as much as 85 billion euros, according to a report.
In the US, there are green shoots. American International Group Inc.'s life and retirement unit raised more money than any other US IPO this year after pricing its shares at the bottom of a marketed range. It ended its first day of trading below the issue price but is being watched as a sign of things to come.
Drew Singer helped with the project.
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