Companies raised $16.3 billion in the Shanghai bourse in the second quarter of this year, catapulting the city to the top of the chart and beating New York and London for the first time since 2010 as the preferred venue for fund-raising either through IPOs or secondary offerings, according to Reuters.
China was also where the biggest IPO so far this year took place, as Chinese broker Guotai Junan raised $4.8 billion from its initial share sale in Shanghai, said Reuters.
The blistering IPO activity recorded in the first half of the year in China –totaling 190 – is expected continue next year as the number of IPOs may more reach 400, said Reuters.
For the whole of Asia Pacific, funds raised in January-June in equities markets hit $147.1 billion, up from $84.9 billion in the first six months of last year, it said.
Will this trend continue in the second half of the year, particularly in China?
The global rout in equities markets fueled by the failure of Greece to get another debt relief from its creditors triggered a selloff in Chinese shares Monday, and they are now officially in bear market territory. Because of this, the Chinese government is reportedly planning to stop IPOs in the mainland in the meantime, said Bloomberg in a news report.
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