APAC IPO proceeds ballooned 80% to US$3.1b

Vietnam led the growth with a real estate developer listing of US$3.1b.

APAC IPO proceeds ballooned 80% to US$3.1b in Q2 2018 despite the fall of IPO volumes in the ASEAN by 33%, EY revealed. Vietnam largely contributed to this growth through big listings from a real estate developer (US$1.3b) and a bank (US$923m).

“IPO activity has been driven mostly by entrepreneurial companies coming to market, although there were two significant deals of note on Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.” EY Asean and Singapore managing partner Max Loh said. “Geopolitical uncertainty, trade tensions and emerging market concerns continue to weigh down on IPO activity in Asean.”

Meanwhile, initial public offering (IPO) volumes in the Asia-Pacific plummeted 37% in H1 2018 as global IPO activity fell 21% from H1 2017. Despite this, the region led globally as it accounted for 46% of IPOs in H1 2018, EY revealed.

Not including real estate investment trusts (REITS), EY noted that ASEAN countries including Indonesia (19 IPOs), Malaysia (10 IPOs), Singapore (7 IPOs), Thailand (6 IPOs), and the Philippines (1 IPO) — predominantly recorded smaller cap listings for H1 2018.