Hong Kong IPO Market Goes From First to Eighth

Hong Kong's market watchdog is examining whether international investment banks and local sponsors carried out adequate due diligence on the city's new listings last year, a report said Tuesday.The Financial Times said the regulator will look into Hong Kong's 31.8 billion-US-dollars of initial public offerings in 2009 -- the world's biggest IPO market last year -- amid criticism that the city's exchange allowed poor-quality companies to float their shares.

Chinese insurer Ping An Insurance's Hong Kong brokerage will soon underwrite initial public offerings, at a time when the city, once the world's hottest for IPOs, is struggling to attract new listings.

Chinese insurer Ping An Insurance's Hong Kong brokerage will soon underwrite initial public offerings, at a time when the city, once the world's hottest for IPOs, is struggling to attract new listings.

Malaysia is tipped to be Asia's top IPO market for 2012 thanks to two of the world's biggest company listings this year, but analysts say the momentum is likely to fizzle out.At a time of global economic distress, Malaysia's drive for initial public offerings is being propped up by pre-election encouragement from the government and by cash-rich state funds, the analysts said.But they said the resource-rich, developing Southeast Asian country of 28 million people is not on course to supplant better known IPO capitals in the region such as Hong Kong and Singapore.

By Renaissance Capital IPO Research: Now entering its eighth week on the US IPO calendar, Chinese mobile marketing company Loyalty Alliance Enterprise (LAEC) is still trying to raise $36 million by offering 5.1 million shares at a price range of $6 to $8. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Loyalty Alliance would command a market value of $105 million.

The Hong Kong IPO market, the world's busiest, is finishing the year with a surprising rebound as low prices and leading names are luring big investors to three big initial public offerings worth as much as $6.75 billion.