Several potential billion-dollar initial public offerings ranging from supermarket owner WM Tech Corp. to health-care startup We Doctor Holdings Ltd. have let their applications lapse in recent weeks as regulatory scrutiny and stock market weakness crimps listings.
"Where the wind blows largely depends on the industry of the IPO-aspirant,” said Justin Tang, head of Asian research at United First Partners in Singapore."Companies in the consumer tech and real estate related sectors will continue to experience headwinds in the form of the ‘common prosperity’ campaign and regulatory reforms.”
We Doctor’s planned float -- which could have raised as much as $3 billion -- got caught up in China’s tightening oversight of how its tech giants manage the data they collect. The Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed company plans to refile for a Hong Kong listing but any deal won’t be quick given the time needed to update financial numbers as well as regulatory uncertainty, according to people with knowledge of the matter.