Advertisement

Outdated rule on lock-ups is one reason why Malaysia's IPOs outstrip Hong Kong's

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
In Astro Malaysia's US$1.5 billion IPO the 16 cornerstones were locked up for only three months. Photo: Reuters

Everyone knows that Hong Kong's IPO market is going through tough times. New deals are rare, depriving punters of a once favoured way of betting on equities and generating quick gains.

Advertisement

Less appreciated, however, is the extent to which arcane practices on cornerstone investors hold back primary issuance.

To understand this point, it's helpful to compare Hong Kong's new listings with Malaysia's.

In the year to date the Kuala Lumpur exchange has been the most active for IPO fundraisings in Asia excluding Japan, and Bursa Malaysia also claims the year's three largest listings.

Hong Kong, which in the past decade used to routinely grab the top spot among global bourses for IPOs, now trails embarrassingly behind it.

Advertisement

Why? Support for new listings in the form of orders from domestic and state-led institutions explains some of Malaysia's success.

Advertisement