Record new listings in China are bucking the global trend. Issuers raised a historic $58bn this year even as global listing volumes halved. But the sudden boom should make investors wary. Debutantes are raising money while they still can.
Mainland Chinese markets — the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange — have taken the world’s top spot for both volume and fundraising amount. Five listings exceeded $1bn, far outpacing those in Hong Kong, which has long held the world’s top spot for listing volume.
Until last year, mainland China’s listings accounted for just a tenth of funds raised globally. Those have now grown to nearly half of the world’s total, according to Bloomberg data.