Making it public: Asia Pacific leads global IPO activity in 1H14

SGX-listed firm makes big debut.

More and more companies in the Asia Pacific region are opening their doors to IPOs. The region led the world’s IPO activity in 1H14, according to the EY Global IPO Trends: 2014 Q2. .

The report revealed that 217 IPOs were made in the region, raising US$33.7b in 1H2014.

Among the largest IPOs are Singapore-listed PACC Offshore Services Holdings Ltd, which raised US$335.1m.

“Asia-Pacific exchanges saw more IPOs in the first half of 2014 than any other region with 217 deals raising US$33.7b, an increase of 64% and 45% respectively on the first half of 2013. Four of the 20 largest IPOs in the first half of 2014 were on Asian exchanges – three IPOs on Hong Kong and one IPO on Tokyo Stock Exchange. However, activity slowed down in Q214 compared to the first quarter of the year,” noted Ernst & Young.

Here’s more from EY:

“After a bumper start to the year with the reopening of Mainland China’s exchanges to new listings, activity slowed due to approvals again being placed on hold for most of the second quarter,” says Max Loh, Ernst & Young’s Asean and Singapore Managing Partner.

“But with a further slew of Chinese companies now expected to list this year and solid investor confidence across a range of markets including Hong Kong, Japan and Australia, the stage is set for considerable, albeit constrained, IPO activity in the second half of the year.”

Loh continues: “Indonesia and Thailand are among the top 10 exchanges by deals in Q2 2014 with 8 and 7 deals respectively. Singapore-listed PACC Offshore Services Holdings Ltd, raising US$335.1m; Malaysia-listed Boustead Plantations Bhd, raising US$327.7m; and Thailand-listed Kaset Thai International Sugar Corp pcl, raising US$297.4m were among the top 10 issuers in Asia in Q2

There were a total of 588 deals raising around US$117.7b in the first six months of the year, an increase of 60% and 67% respectively on the same period in 2013 and the highest amount of capital raised in the first half since 2007.

In Q214, there were 333 IPOs raising US$70.7b, a 30.6% increase on the previous quarter and a rise of 62.4% compared to Q213 by deal numbers 2014. There is some momentum, which augurs well for the second half of 2014, but the IPO transactions will need to have the right growth story and be priced right to attract investors.”