Following the listing of the world’s biggest aluminum firm, Rusal, and Mongolian coal miner SouthGobi Energy Resources in Hong Kong earlier this year, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) is looking to attract South American and African companies to list on the Hong Kong bourse.
According to the HKEx Chairman Ronald Arculli, it is part of HKEx’s three-year strategic plan to have more international companies to list in Hong Kong and establish the city as an international financial centre. He said mining and resource companies from South America and Africa like Brazil and Nigeria could benefit from proposed improvements in the HKEx rules to make it easier for them to list in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, companies come to list in Hong Kong can tap funds from Asian investors through HKEx, and get closer to the Mainland China and Asian markets, which are the fastest-growing in the world. Since 1993, more than 300 Mainland China firms have listed in Hong Kong, representing 58 per cent of the bourse’s market capitalization.
After a fantastic year for IPO’s on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), it was not at all surprising that a standing-room only crowd at the Prospectus and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC 2010) Convention in Toronto was eager to hear from visiting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K.C. Chan, and HKEx Chairman, Ronald Arculli, about Hong Kong and on how HKEx has become one of the most active markets in the world.
HKEx ranked Number 1 globally in 2009 for IPO fundraising (US$31.3 billion), and Number 4 globally in terms of total fund raised, including post-IPO, of US$81.4 billion. A total of 73 companies were newly listed on HKEx and they included overseas companies which have listed their Greater China related business operations in Hong Kong. “Companies are attracted to list in Hong Kong to benefit from our market’s liquidity, attractive valuations and access to investors in Asia,” said Professor Chan.
2010 has already started off well, Professor Chan said at the PDAC Seminar in March on “Listing and Capital Raising in Hong Kong for Mining and Natural Resources Companies”, with SouthGobi Energy Resources, owned by Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines, raising USD$439 million through a secondary listing on the HKEx, just days after Russia’s UC Rusal, the world’s largest aluminium producer and the first ever non-Asian company to have a primary listing in Hong Kong, raised USD$2.24 billion.
It is expected that at least nine other foreign mining companies will be listing in HKEx this year, said the Secretary, some of which are from Canada. Professor Chan encouraged Canadian natural resources companies in particular to list on the HKEx so as to take advantage of China’s seemingly insatiable appetite for raw materials, as well as the liquidity afforded by the Mainland’s wealthy, upper and middle-class who are very active investors on the HKEx. He pointed out that companies incorporated in British Columbia and Ontario are acceptable for listing in Hong Kong and that HKEx has adopted international standards and practices to facilitate dual listings, with no capital controls and no capital reporting requirements. Continue reading ‘Hong Kong – A Global Centre for Raising Capital’
Hong Kong, having raised US$13.82 billion in the first 10 months this year, has become world’s premier destination for initial public offerings.
According to the World Federation of Exchanges, Hong Kong was ranked No.1 as the largest listing market by fund-raising size, surpassing Shanghai and New York. Shanghai’s IPO take for the year now stands at US$12.37 billion.
The number of offerings this year until last week of November was 62 per cent up on last year, with 47 companies turning to Hong Kong for flotation. It is said that Hong Kong is now seeing investment capital pouring into the listing market “as there is no other way to go due to the low interest rate.”
Hong Kong’s strategies and measures to cope with climate change by reducing carbon emissions and at the same time creating business opportunities, were explained to political and business leaders in Copenhagen by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau.
In a panel discussion of the Copenhagen Climate Summit for Mayors held December 16, Mr Yau gave an account of what Hong Kong was doing in promoting a low carbon economy, particularly in engaging the private sector, in tackling the climate change.
Joining the panel discussion, with “Public-Private Partnerships” as the theme, were international leaders of various economies including World Bank President Mr Robert Zoellick, Governor of California Mr Arnold Schwarzenegger and mayors of major cities. It presented leading examples of innovative partnerships between cities and private partners in fighting the climate change.
Fielding questions from the participants, Mr Yau said Hong Kong adopted a multi-pronged strategy to tackle sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with building energy efficiency as the core action as buildings accounted for about 55 per cent of our GHG emissions. Other measures included the promotion of green transport including the use of electric vehicles (EV) as well as strategic waste treatment program.
Mr Yau added that the discussion was a valuable opportunity for Hong Kong to share with participants its efforts in combating climate change and to draw references from others’ experiences in reducing GHG emissions.
On behalf of Hong Kong, Mr Yau also took part in the C40’s announcement on EV in Copenhagen. Eleven member cities of C40, including Hong Kong, were committed to actions in areas critical to the successful introduction of EVs with a view to accelerating its deployment.
Economic growth moderated in the second quarter amidst challenging external environments; Inflation forecasts for 2008 revised upward.
The Hong Kong economy grew moderately by 4.2% in the second quarter of 2008. The moderation after a prolonged period of robust economic expansion indicated that the headwinds from the slowing growth in the advanced economies and lingering financial market turbulence had increasingly posed a drag on economic growth of the Asian region, including that of Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong economy is expected to grow moderately further in the rest of 2008. Considering the notable economic growth of 5.8% in the first half of the year, the economy is expected to expand by 4-5% in 2008 as a whole.
As for inflation, taking into account the faster-than-expected increase in food prices in the first half of the year, the forecast rate of increase in the underlying CCPI for 2008 is revised upward to 5.5%. Nevertheless, the relief measures announced in the 2008-09 Budget and by the Chief Executive in mid-July would help to lower the headline inflation notably in the latter part of the year. The forecast headline inflation rate for 2008 is now put at 4.2%.
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