“Death and taxes and childbirth!” fumed Scarlett O’Hara, “There’s never any convenient time for any of them!” Hong Kongers, who pay low taxes, would at least disagree on the other two: the initial public offering of a Chinese burial group this week has attracted the strongest retail demand since a baby product maker three years ago. Flimsy comparisons with 19th-century Atlanta belles aside, the Hong Kong surge suggests Asia’s premier new listing venue might be returning to life.
《飄》中的女主人公郝思嘉(Scarlett O’Hara)曾經大發脾氣道:「死亡、交稅和生孩子!任何時候幹這三件事中的任何一件都不合適!」而享受著低稅率的香港人至少還會對其餘兩項持不同看法:本週首次公開發行(IPO)的一家中國殯葬集團,吸引到了自三年前某嬰兒用品生產商上市以來最強勁的散戶買盤。姑且將與19世紀亞特蘭大名媛的牽強比較放在一邊,香港洶湧的申購人潮表明,這一亞洲最主要的新股上市市場或許重新煥發出了生機。