Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Market / Stock-market-news/  Next Prada eludes Hong Kong as foreign companies shun listings
BackBack

Next Prada eludes Hong Kong as foreign companies shun listings

Only one non-Chinese company went public in Hong Kong this year, the worst annual tally in five years

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s efforts to clamp down on lavish spending by officials have hurt the luxury goods sales that made Hong Kong a magnet for companies such as Prada. Photo: AFPPremium
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s efforts to clamp down on lavish spending by officials have hurt the luxury goods sales that made Hong Kong a magnet for companies such as Prada. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong: As Hong Kong wraps up its best year for initial public offerings (IPOs) since 2010, the city’s bourse is notching up a less flattering milestone: listings of overseas companies have almost evaporated.

Only one non-Chinese company went public in Hong Kong, the worst annual tally in five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The value of foreign IPOs in the city has fallen every year since 2011, when companies such as Prada SpA made up about one-fifth of funds raised, the data show.

The drop deals a blow to Hong Kong’s ambitions to be a global financial centre rivalling New York and London and ties the fortunes of its stock exchange even closer to China. The market’s lower valuations and slowing Chinese growth have turned away the consumer brands and commodity producers that saw a Hong Kong IPO as a gateway to expansion in Asia.

“Our market used to have the momentum, but we seem to have lost it somehow," said Pamela Chung, managing director of Computershare Hong Kong Investor Services Ltd, which has run the share registry for most foreign companies listed in the city. “If we’ve lost our competitive edge, then we won’t even be able to rely on the China market as mainland companies have other choices too."

That was evident this year when Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the Chinese e-commerce juggernaut, picked New York for its $25 billion IPO in September, the world’s biggest ever.

Nirvana flop

Initial share sales in Hong Kong have raised $28 billion this year, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. The only foreign listing was Malaysian funeral services provider Nirvana Asia Ltd, which raised $261 million—less than 1% of total proceeds—and fell 30% on its trading debut this month.

“If Hong Kong wants to remain international, the exchange clearly has an important role," Ronald Arculli, who led a push to lure foreign companies as chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd from 2006 to 2012, said in a phone interview. “Something like this, you shouldn’t really drop it completely from your schedule."

Listing in the city has become less attractive as Hong Kong stocks lagged behind other markets. The Hang Seng Index increased 2.2% over the past two years against a 44% jump in the US and 21% gain in Europe. Hong Kong’s largest companies trade at 9.8 times earnings, compared with 18.2 times for S&P 500 Index constituents and 21.2 times for members of the STOXX Europe 600 Price Index.

Making matters worse for Hong Kong, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s efforts to clamp down on lavish spending by officials have hurt the luxury goods sales that made the city a magnet for companies such as Prada. Falling commodity demand in China has discouraged overseas resources firms, and the city’s ban on dual classes of shares kept away companies like soccer-team owner Manchester United Plc, which ended up listing in the US.

“The exchange should continue reaching out to companies around the world and not rely on just China," said Nelson Yan, chief investment officer at Changjiang Securities Co.’s Hong Kong unit. “Having more international companies will help reduce the systemic risk from our correlation to the Chinese economy."

Glencore listing

Foreign companies completed a record $4.1 billion IPOs in 2011, when Prada, luggage maker Samsonite International SA and commodities trader Glencore Plc went public in the city. The following year, foreign IPOs fell to $1.1 billion and then to $571 million last year, Bloomberg data shows.

While Hong Kong attracted issuers from Italy, Switzerland and the US in 2011, most foreign listings since have come from Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and Malaysia. Nexteer Automotive Group Ltd, the US car parts maker controlled by China’s biggest aerospace company, was the only overseas company from outside Asia to list in the past two years.

By contrast, 11% of IPO proceeds in London were from non-British companies this year while foreign issuers accounted for 39% in the US, the data shows.

The bourse will “never give up" seeking to attract foreign companies but is focused on improving the stock connect program, Hong Kong Exchanges chief executive officer Charles Li said in early December. The link, started last month, allows a net 23.5 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) of daily cross-border purchases between Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Drawing more Chinese investors into the Hong Kong market will then attract more international companies, Li said on the sidelines of a conference in Singapore.

“Most of the big, quality firms from China have already gone public and it’s becoming easier to sell shares in the country’s domestic market," Changjiang’s Yan said. “Hong Kong may see its IPO market shrinking if it stops looking for foreign listings." Bloomberg

Eduard Gismatullin in Hong Kong contributed to this story.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 22 Dec 2014, 01:19 AM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App