Listings in greater China grew by 29% and the amount of money raised soared 72% from last year in the first half of 2020, EY said recently in a report.
While the exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai took the lead in terms of number of deals as well as total amount raised, the number of IPOs and amount raised in other regions dropped significantly from a year ago, the company added.
In Asia Pacific, proceeds were up 56% compared with a drop of 30% in the Americas and 48% in Europe.
In terms of the number of listings, Asia Pacific saw a 2% increase versus Americas's 30% drop and Europe's 47% decline.
The impact of the the pandemic continued to play a significant role in declining IPO activity in the first half of 2020, said EY.
Asia Pacific’s IPO scene was more resilient as some economies reopened earlier and were among the first to recover from the initial impact of the coronavirus, EY said.
“Strong activity on STAR Market (Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Sci-tech innovation board) and more mega IPOs on HKEx (Hong Kong Exchange) helped to propel the rise,” EY observed.
Some Chinese tech giants such as Netease and JD.com already listed in the US have recently launched secondary listings in Hong Kong.
“Potential changes to US listing regulations for Chinese companies may increase IPO activity on both Mainland China and Hong Kong stock exchanges,” EY said
There are more than 138 companies that have submitted public filings in Hong Kong, the company said, adding that it’s an indication of businesses having a strong desire to go public when the right IPO window opens.
