After a year in which companies raised some $32bn (£21bn, €24bn) through initial public offerings in Hong Kong – more than anywhere else in the world – the territory's dealmakers have many reasons for cheer.
But behind the headlines, the picture is murkier. Investors, lawyers and regulators are questioning whether bankers carried out adequate due diligence on some of these IPOs – or whether standards slipped in the heat of the boom.
The Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong's market regulator, plans to ask global investment banks and smaller local brokers for detailed records of IPOs they arranged over the past 18 months so they can be audited for compliance with regulations.