Hong Kong Asia's once-hot initial public offering market is likely to open up again soon, with secondary volumes in the equity sector showing signs of picking up, said the Asia head of investment banking at Europe's biggest bank HSBC Holdings Plc.
Interest from international companies looking to list in Hong Kong has also increased and is likely to be an area of interest for HSBC, Robin Phillips, head of global banking and markets in Asia, told Reuters in an interview yesterday.
"It's just a matter of time before the IPO markets open up again, and we need to be prepared for when that happens," he said.
Major IPO deals that HSBC's investment banking arm is working on include being joint bookrunner for high-end jeweller Graff Diamonds, which formally applied for a Hong Kong listing last week, according to people familiar with the matter.
The uptick in the equities market comes after a weak performance in 2011, with stock sales in Asia excluding Japan plunging 42 per cent from a year earlier to $195 billion (Dh715.65 billion).
HSBC is ranked second by fees in Asia excluding Japan this year.
