Hong Kong to Top Global IPO Market This Year, KPMG Says
Xu Wei
DATE:  Sep 25 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Hong Kong to Top Global IPO Market This Year, KPMG Says Hong Kong to Top Global IPO Market This Year, KPMG Says

(Yicai Global) Sept. 25 -- Hong Kong is expected to take the title of the world's largest market for initial public offerings this year following a number of high-profile listings in the third quarter, a new report says.

Total proceeds raised from flotations in the special administrative region are expected to reach HKD300 billion (USD38 billion), KPMG said in its quarterly IPO review for the Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. The consultancy has raised its expectations by HKD50 billion from another forecast released earlier in the year.

Hong Kong's main index has hosted some 40 IPOs this quarter with HKD190 billion raised in total, exceeding the total amount raised for all of last year (HKD122 billion). Some of the biggest listings in the quarter include smartphone maker Xiaomi, telecoms infrastructure firm China Tower and hotpot chain Haidilao.

New economy firms such as Xiaomi contributed around half of the total raised on the back of new rules allowing them to list in Hong Kong. Enacted in April, the regulations permitted listings from companies with weighted voting rights, a typical feature of a new economy enterprise, as well as from biotech firms that have not yet passed the Main Board's financial eligibility tests.

With one week left in the third quarter, proceeds from IPOs on Hong Kong's Main Index are expected to hit HKD238 billion for the first nine months, triple the figure raised in the year-ago period. The number of listings is set to be three-quarters higher than last year at 88, while the average funding size has increased HKD2.7 billion from HKD1.6 billion.

Editor: William Clegg

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Keywords:   Hong Kong,IPO,KPMG