Chinese TMT IPO proceeds triples to $264.9b in 2018

China Tower Corp, Xiaomi Corp and Meituan Dianping had the largest IPOs in H2 2018.

Total proceeds of Chinese Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) IPOs tripled from 2017 to hit about $264.9b (RMB 225.9b) in 2018, according to a report by PwC China.

In the second half of 2018, the number of Chinese TMT IPOs rose significantly to 40, with combined proceeds amounting to $197.1b (RMB 168.1 billion). China Tower Corp, Xiaomi Corp and Meituan Dianping completed the three largest Chinese TMT IPOs in terms of proceeds during this period.

“Since many TMT unicorns went public in Hong Kong and overseas in 2018, the total proceeds of IPOs raised by Chinese TMT companies soared. Hong Kong became one of the world’s hottest IPO markets in 2018,” PwC Global’s mainland China & Hong Kong TMT leader Wilson Chow said.

Furthermore, 31 Chinese TMT companies chose to list in Hong Kong or overseas, with their proceeds accounting for 94% of the total.

Amongst all 40 Chinese TMT IPOs, 14 were in the hardware and equipment sector, accounting for 35% of the total during the second half of 2018. The software and service sector featured 26 IPOs, accounting for 65% of the total.

“The setup of the science and technology innovation board in 2019 will create a new financing platform for Chinese sci-tech innovation firms. The sci-tech innovation board will also become the ‘test field’ for innovation in the Chinese capital market, and will play as an important role model for capital market reforms,” said Jianbin Gao, TMT leader of PwC China.