SINGAPORE - As Asia’s key centres of commerce, Singapore and Hong Kong have a part to play in the growth of the region’s wealth, but each stands to gain by carrying out different roles, a senior executive of Hong Kong’s bourse operator said.
This comes after a growing number of regional companies braved IPOs on their domestic markets in the past two years, as Covid-19 pandemic restrictions made it difficult for them to carry out international roadshows, among other things. “Aside from the US, Hong Kong is the only other exchange that can claim to be an international fund-raising platform. Regional companies that need to tap a deeper and more liquid exchange for funds do not have a lot of choice.”
The Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index is up 20 per cent to just over 19,600 earlier in May from a 15-month low of under 14,800 in late January. It closed at around 18,800 on May 27. “There are companies that still want to list, but they don’t want to issue more shares than necessary due to low valuations. That’s also capping the amount of funds they raise,” Ms Chan said.
The industries include next-generation information technology, advanced hardware and software, advanced materials, new energy and environmental protection, and new food and agriculture technologies. One other example is in 2018, when the exchange created a new set of rules allowing pre-revenue biotech firms to list.