Making it public: Asia Pacific exchanges grabbed majority of IPOs in 2014

There were 339 new listings in just the past 9 months.

There have been more IPOs on Asia-Pacific exchanges so far this year than in any other region, as more companies jump on the IPO bandwagon to capitalize on Asia’s stellar growth.

According to EY, there were 339 new listings compared to 215 IPOs in the same period in 2013. Proceeds are also up, with US$47.4b in capital raised in 2014 – a 51% year-on-year increase.

Hong Kong has been the busiest exchange in the region in 2014, with 64 IPOs raising US$16.7b. Consumer staples is the leading sector by proceeds, with 14.0% of the region’s capital raised, ahead of technology (12.5%) and energy and power (12.5%). The industrials sector has seen the highest number of IPOs with 56 deals, followed by technology with 43 listings.

Meanwhile, the Singapore SGX raised US$963m in four deals while Singapore Catalist raised US$60m in four deals this quarter.

According to Max Loh, Asean and Singapore Managing Partner at EY, “In Singapore, REITs and business trusts continue to be a focus area as investors look for steady attractive yield. Looking ahead, IPO activity in Asean looks to be on an upward trajectory. More overseas companies are looking to list in Asean markets, particularly Singapore, as the region becomes increasingly important for their business. However, there is increasing interest among Asean’s technology and e-commerce companies to list in the US and European exchanges given the potential for higher valuations.”