China’s Zhongyuan Bank will raise $1bn in an initial public offering that comes as Hong Kong bankers are pinning their hopes on a sharp upturn in business if the city is to maintain its crown as the world’s top listings venue for a third year.
The deal is the third $1bn-plus offering in Hong Kong so far in 2017, but new listings to date have raised just $7bn, according to Dealogic, leaving the city languishing behind the US, mainland China and London in the league tables. Hong Kong has topped the annual rankings for the past two years, in 2016 pipping China’s $24.8bn with $25.2bn to its credit.
New York last month enjoyed its busiest week in two years with 10 deals pushed out ahead of the July 4 bank holiday that usually marks the beginning of the summer lull. So far this year, IPOs on Wall Street have raised $28.2bn.