Equity fund-raising picks up for Singapore-based companies in H2

SINGAPORE-DOMICILED companies tapping the equity capital markets have raised US$2.4 billion so far this year, a 79.3 per cent jump from the US$1.3 billion raised in the first half of 2015, data from Thomson Reuters showed on Tuesday.

This was largely boosted by the Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) of Singapore-based BOC Aviation, which raised US$1.1 billion.

The second quarter of this year also saw two IPOs priced for Singapore Exchange. Frasers Logistics and Industrial Trust raised some US$935 million in its public offering, the biggest IPO since Asian Pay Television Trust's US$1.1 billion IPO in 2013. Manulife US Reit's IPO raised US$493 million from its second listing attempt.

Singapore-listed equity offerings - combined IPOs and follow-on offerings listed in Singapore's stock exchanges - have totalled US$1.4 billion so far this year, a 65.2 per cent increase in proceeds after "a really slow start" during the first half of 2015, Thomson Reuters said.

The pipeline for new listings in Singapore looks healthy for this year, said the data provider, citing IPOs from Singapore-based Equis Funds Group and Fullerton Healthcare, and China-based EC World Reit and Greenland Holdings Reit.