Bottom line: Upcoming Hong Kong IPOs for nuclear energy firm CGN Power and real estate developer are likely to do well, while a third listing for car maker BAIC could get a more lukewarm reception.
Dalian Wanda seeks approval for $6 bln HK IPO
New York has posted a banner year for Chinese IPOs, culminating with the record-breaking $25 billion listing for Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) in September. But Hong Kong is showing it still has plenty to offer too, with a flurry of major new listings coming in the final month of 2015. At least 3 major new offerings are bubbling around the headlines as we head into December, led by one for China’s largest nuclear plant builder, CGN Power Co. Meantime, Beijing-based auto maker BAIC and property giant Dalian Wanda are also revving up for what could well be 2 of the biggest listings for the year. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: A year-end rush of Chinese IPOs will include mostly second-tier firms seeking to capitalize on positive market sentiment, leading to weak pricing and delayed trading debuts.
eHi IPO delayed
The year-end rush of IPOs that I’ve been predicting has hit a speed bump, with word that one offering set to debut last week has been delayed and a second has been scaled back dramatically. The first piece of news saw car rental specialist eHi (NYSE: EHIC) unexpectedly delay its offering at the last minute, reportedly after the company came under suspicion of submitting false information in some of its earlier IPO filings. Meantime, Sky Solar Holdings (Nasdaq: SKYS) had to dramatically scale back its planned US listing after meeting with lukewarm demand, as it became the first solar panel-linked company to make a US listing in 4 years. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Mobile SNS firm Momo is likely to raise far less than the $300 million it has targeted for its IPO, as it kicks of a mini-surge of loss-making Chinese tech firms racing to list in New York by year end.
Momo kicks off year-end IPO rush
A record year of fund raising for Chinese firms on Wall Street could still have some life left, with word of another major offering plan by Momo, operator of mobile-based social networking (SNS) service. The company’s plan to raise up to $300 million would have looked ambitious at this time last year, when New York IPOs by Chinese firms were just starting to gain momentum after a nearly 3 year deep freeze. But that kind of target has become the norm in the current climate, and I expect we could see a flurry of similar-sized offerings over the next 5 or 6 weeks before the final curtain comes down on a banner year for Chinese tech IPOs in 2014. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Bright Food’s overseas IPO plans for its British Weetabix and Australian Manassen brands could get lukewarm response due to investor skepticism about their growth prospects.
Bright eyes offshore IPOs for Weetabix, Manassen
I’ve watched with interest over the last 2 years as Shanghai-based Bright Food has quietly gobbled up a stream of high-profile global investments, positioning the company to potentially become one of China’s first international consumer brands to rival giants like Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Kraft Foods (Nasdaq: KRFT). Now we’re getting further details of Bright’s growing global aspirations, with word that it’s planning a series of international IPOs including potential major listings in Hong Kong and London. Read Full Post…
Two major news events were at the center of the microblogging realm this past week, as tech executives from across the spectrum commented on the blockbuster IPO for Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and the debut of latest iPhone from Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). Executives were generally full of praise for the Alibaba IPO, which shattered numerous records when the stock began trading last Friday in New York. But there were also some hints of jealousy, as top executives from fast-fading e-commerce rival Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) and security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) suffered from valuation envy.
Meantime, domestic smartphone makers Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) took advantage of the iPhone’s formal launch last Friday to tout their own products, which are far cheaper and enjoy a reputation for reasonable quality. But unlike the iPhone, Huawei and ZTE still suffer from the “Made in China” stigma, and don’t command anything near the level of respect and buzz that the iPhone gets. Read Full Post…
China Auto IPO draws on Alibaba fever with strong debut
I’m a bit reluctant to write more today about the historic New York IPO for e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), whose extremely strong trading debut surprised even me. But I would be somewhat remiss if I didn’t at least mention the final phase of this massive offering, which has made Alibaba the world’s second largest Internet company behind only Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). At the same time, another far more low profile trading debut in Hong Kong for auto rental specialist CAR Inc (HKEx: 699) has also done quite well, extending a nearly yearlong window for overseas listings by Chinese firms. Read Full Post…
Hong Kong may be disappointed about losing the world’s biggest Internet IPO with the imminent trading debut of Alibaba in New York, but it’s getting a nice consolation prize with word of a major new listing plan by top commercial property developer Wanda Group. The Wanda reports are getting much less coverage than they might normally due to Alibaba fever, which will see the Chinese e-commerce leader raise more than $20 billion when its shares start trading on Friday in New York. But at up to $6 billion, the IPO for Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties will still qualify as one of the world’s biggest offerings for 2014. Read Full Post…
I usually don’t write about any company more than once a week, and certainly not twice on the same day. But today I’m making an exception for the upcoming IPO of Alibaba, which will finally come to an end with its trading debut on Friday. The latest news bits in the run-up to what’s likely to be the world’s biggest IPO of all time have media reporting that Alibaba may raise the upper end of the price range for its shares, allowing it to raise even more money. At the same time, Alibaba’s talkative and charismatic founder Jack Ma has made a surprise appearance in Hong Kong as part of the company’s road show, where he was warmly greeted by investors. Read Full Post…
A year of hype surrounding what’s likely to become the biggest IPO in history will officially end later this week, when homegrown Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba formally lists on the New York Stock Exchange. The IPO will give most global investors access to Alibaba’s shares and a chance to profit from one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing e-commerce markets. Read Full Post…
The final countdown has just begun for e-commerce giant Alibaba’s highly anticipated New York IPO, allowing us to see just how much the company might be worth, how much money it might raise and whether it might be the biggest US or even global IPO of all time. The final answer to all of those questions will remain a mystery until Alibaba actually prices the deal, but at least we can speculate now what the chances are of it meeting some of the lofty goals that market watchers have set for the company. I’ll start by giving my view that the deal should price relatively strongly, and make some conclusions from that later in this post. Read Full Post…
The latest headlines about an upcoming IPO for online game operator Linekong made me realize it’s been quite a while since we last saw any news of offshore listing plans by Chinese Internet and tech firms. Such listings were coming nonstop earlier this year, and saw a wide range of names including the Twitter-like Weibo (Nasdaq: WB), e-commerce giant JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) and real estate services site Leju (NYSE: LEJU) all make IPOs in New York. But the Internet IPO pipeline has gone largely silent since early August, when mobile game operator iDreamSky (Nasdaq: DSKY) made its trading debut. Read Full Post…
