IPO candidates head overseas as South-east Asian markets lag

[HONG KONG] Companies across South-east Asia are looking overseas to sell shares, as persistent underperformance in some parts of the region weighs on markets at home.

Philippine fast-food group Jollibee Foods’ international unit and financial-technology firm Maya are eyeing US listings. Indonesia’s Merdeka Gold Resources and a unit of the MNC Group conglomerate are considering Hong Kong, as is the restaurant arm of Thai hospitality group Minor International.

The moves highlight a broader strain across the Philippine, Indonesian and Thai markets, where thin liquidity and weak returns have made it harder to attract capital. All three have trailed the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index over the past year, prompting companies to look abroad for higher valuations and more investors.

“The issue for many South-east Asian markets is the relative lack of capital pools available for public equities and the relative maturity of their public equity ecosystems,” said William Bratton, head of Asia-Pacific cash equity research at BNP Paribas

The challenge is more acute for niche or fast-growing companies, which often see overseas exchanges with more developed ecosystems as a lower-risk route to public capital, he added.

Last month, Jollibee’s chief financial officer said the US offers a deep pool of investors and strong market valuations for food-and-beverage companies. The Philippine Stock Exchange is projecting just four initial public offerings this year, after missing its own targets for 2023, 2024 and 2025.

A similar dynamic is playing out in Thailand, where Minor International is considering Hong Kong as the listing venue for its restaurant business, drawn by the prospect of higher valuations and broader investor base, its chief executive officer said last week. The company is also pursuing a listing of a real estate investment trust worth about US$1 billion in Singapore, which – like Hong Kong – has been stepping up efforts to court international issuers.

Domestic conditions remain challenging. A senior Thai stock exchange official said last year the nation’s IPO market was likely to stay subdued as market reforms would take time to stem the drift of companies towards overseas exchanges.

Indonesia, meanwhile, is battling a potential downgrade to frontier-market status by MSCI, which has raised concerns over investability and limited free float. Regulators are bracing for a record amount of share sales to meet tougher free-float rules.

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For many companies, listing abroad offers a way to distance themselves from weaknesses at home and signals adherence to international standards, said Liza Camelia Suryanata, head of research at Kiwoom Sekuritas Indonesia. “That sends a clear signal: ‘We are comfortable operating under tighter, internationally benchmarked scrutiny,’” she added.

In Hong Kong, the deals will test its appeal to non-Chinese issuers after a bumper recovery in IPOs driven by large mainland Chinese companies. Not all recent listings are winners though: Shares of coconut-water firm IFBH, which has roots in Thailand, have fallen 47 per cent since their June 2025 debut.

“The success of non-Chinese listings on the exchange has been a bit mixed,” Bratton said. “It may be premature to suggest that this will change, especially as growing capital pools across Asia may increase the relative attractiveness of their domestic exchanges.” BLOOMBERG