Asia Capital Markets Research
Will the IDX IPO boom last?
The Indonesia Stock Exchange has been one of Asia’s top performers this year and globally among the top five exchanges by the amount of capital raised. The IDX has even outperformed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) thus far this year, raising US$2.2 billion as of June, according to Refinitiv data. There is reason to believe that the boom could continue for some time in Southeast Asia’s largest equity market.
Why SGX is still coming up short
In recent years, Singapore’s financial center star has risen so high that the city-state is now commonly referred to as the Switzerland of Asia. It’s an apt comparison, especially considering Singapore’s booming wealth management sector. Yet when it comes to capital markets, Singapore Exchange (SGX) is one of Asia’s weakest performers – and not even close to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). SGX has struggled to attract big-ticket listings despite a push to get tech giants to list closer to home, regulatory changes to attract SPACs and tie-ups with other stock exchanges.
Will the Japanese stock market rally endure?
Japan’s stock market rally is a pleasant surprise amid intense geopolitical tensions in its neighborhood and a tough year overall for capital markets. It seems global investors have a renewed faith in Japan Inc. The Nikkei has notched a 14% gain so far this quarter, reaching a 33-year high in early June. Up 22% this year, the Japanese benchmark is way ahead of most of its peers. Though some analysts say that structural problems in the Japanese economy could ultimately diminish investor interest in Japanese stocks, for now the market remains red hot, with yet another boost from better-than-expected GDP growth in the first quarter.
Why are Japanese stocks red hot?
The last time Japan’s stock market was soaring this high, its bubble economy had yet to burst and the Soviet Union still existed. On May 22, the Nikkei index crossed 31,000, hitting a fresh 33-year peak. With gains about 20% for the year, the Nikkei is the top performing Asian stock exchange and just behind the Nasdaq globally. Brokerage SMBC Nikko Securities expects the Nikkei to end the year at 35,000, while Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management expects the index at 33,500.
Chinese companies keen to raise capital overseas have largely shifted away from the U.S. in recent years amid persistent geopolitical tensions. Europe has emerged as a viable alternative, especially Switzerland’s SIX Exchange. While no European country’s capital markets are as liquid as the U.S.’s, the overall process in Europe is much smoother for Chinese firms these days. That said, new GDR issuance rules mandated by Beijing will probably adversely affect the European deal pipeline.
Why IDX is having a good year
While many IPO markets are lukewarm at best this year, the Indonesia Stock Exchange is doing comparably well. Globally in the first quarter, a total of 299 IPOs raised US$21.5 billion, a sharp decrease of 61% over the same period a year earlier. The usual suspects are responsible: high interests, stubborn inflation, geopolitical tumult – as well as some big and unexpected bank failures. Yet IDX had a cracking Q1: Its US$1.45 billion in IPO proceeds from January to March was its best-ever first-quarter tally, outstripping Hong Kong, Tokyo and London.
Hong Kong’s IPO market had been expected to perform well in the first quarter following the easing of both China’s tech crackdown and zero-Covid policy. With both of those market disruptors in the rearview mirror, it stood to reason that Hong Kong’s capital markets could get back to business as usual. Alas, it was not meant to be. In the January-March period, Hong Kong IPOs raised just US$837 million, a 52% annual decrease and the worst performance since the global financial crisis in 2009, according to data compiled by Refinitiv.
IDX ramps up international partnerships
In line with Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s national strategy to boost the global footprint of domestic firms, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) is stepping up efforts to build international partnerships from Hong Kong to New York. Indonesian regulators are eager to build on strong momentum from 2022, when Indonesia’s benchmark stock index (IDX Composite) was an outlier that rose 4.09% to 6,850.62 points as benchmark indices in Hong Kong, mainland China and Japan all declined.
The Hong Kong IPO market is poised for a revival
After a bleak first half of 2022, Hong Kong’s IPO market regained momentum in the second half of the year. Refinitiv data show that 75 listings raised US$12.69 billion.To be sure, it was a weaker performance than 2021, as the number of deals and total proceeds fell 25% and 70% respectively through early December. Yet ironically, Hong Kong’s IPO market ended up No. 3 globally in terms of funds raised in 2022 after Shanghai and Shenzhen thanks to the rebound in deals in the second half of the year.
When will the Hong Kong IPO market recover?
It has not been the best year so far for Hong Kong’s IPO market, in a stark reversal from its strong performance in the earlier days of the pandemic. Battered by a confluence of unfortunate factors, from the city’s erstwhile zero-Covid policy to China’s tech crackdown to inflation and rising interest rates, the Hong Kong IPO market has thus far raised just US$7.77 billion, the lowest amount since 2013. While there are signs of a revival in the market, particularly with the imminent listing of two Chinese electric vehicle makers, the road to recovery remains long.
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Rakuten wants to build a digital services ecosystem that stretches well beyond the e-commerce business for which it is best known and includes telecoms and digital financial services. With that in mind, the Japanese online shopping giant plans to list both its online securities and digital banking units relatively soon. However, market conditions are suboptimal to say the least, while investors are increasingly skeptical about Rakuten’s costly efforts to build a mobile network to compete against powerful incumbents SoftBank and NTT DoCoMo.
Indonesia plans new economy board, crypto bourse
Indonesia has big plans for its capital markets, among the best performing in Asia this year. Through August 5, 34 companies had listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), raising a total of 20.1 trillion rupiah. By the end of the third quarter, Indonesia plans to launch a new economy board to attract more unicorns. Further, by the end of the year, it plans to roll out a dedicated cryptocurrency bourse.
Can SGX attract more big-ticket listings?
The Singapore Exchange has long been quiet compared to other prominent bourses in Asia, from Hong Kong to Shanghai, Tokyo to Mumbai. We might call it a sleeper – provided that it has adequate potential to awake. In 2021, fundraising on SGX fell 50% to $565 million, a six-year low, with just eight listings, according to Refintiv.
Platform companies have not had the best 2022, especially loss-making ones based in Southeast Asia. Amid global economic jitters, investors are souring on inflated tech valuations and stocks. We had thought Indonesia’s GoTo, with its laser focus on its massive home market and strong fundamentals, might be able to buck this trend, and at first it seemed the company might do just that. After all, its IPO was successful. But in recent weeks, the company’s share price has plummeted, mirroring the trajectories of its peers like Sea Group, Grab, Alibaba and Paytm.