Hong Kong Defies Market Slump With Record Summer IPO Haul

Hong Kong IPO bankers aren’t getting much of a break this summer, according to Bloomberg.

The city’s market for initial public offerings is in the middle of its biggest summer on record, despite a slumping benchmark stock index and some high-profile disappointments. Companies including Xiaomi and China Tower have completed $19.2 billion of first-time share sales since the beginning of June.

That volume easily surpasses the previous record set in 2010, when companies raised $13.4 billion in the three months through August, the data show. Firms pursued stock sales this year after Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing approved the biggest change to its IPO rules in two decades, opening the door for tech companies with weighted voting rights as well as unprofitable biotech firms.

While deals are getting done, the Hang Seng Index is trading down about 16 percent from its January high, which has forced companies to adjust their fundraising expectations. The year’s two biggest IPOs, from China Tower and Xiaomi, priced at the low end of their marketed ranges.

The rest of the year looks like it’s going to be equally busy. Meituan Dianping, the Chinese restaurant review and delivery giant, plans to seek about $6 billion after filing in June for a planned Hong Kong listing, people with knowledge of the matter have said. It will be joined by several biotech firms including Innovent Biologics, which is developing treatments for cancer and other ailments, and contract drug researcher Viva Biotech.