South-east Asia's strong IPO markets an outlier as global deals fizzle

SOUTH-EAST Asia is emerging as a global initial public offering (IPO) hotspot, with the region’s elevated economic growth and stable interest rate outlook making it a standout as bigger financial centres struggle to attract major new share sales.

With Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia leading the way, South-east Asia accounted for nearly 7 per cent of global IPO funds raised so far this year, up from 4 per cent in the same period of 2022, showed Refinitiv data, amid downturns in other markets.

South-east Asia is the only part of the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan where the IPO market has grown this year, rising 4.5 per cent to US$2.23 billion, the data showed.

“South-east Asia’s exchanges could see an uptick in IPO activity in 2023, as economic growth remains well supported and as we are seeing declining inflation,” said Rajiv Vijendran, regional head of investment banking and advisory at Maybank Investment Banking Group.

Indonesia’s Pertamina Hulu Energi’s planned US$1.4 billion IPO and Amman Mineral Internasional’s expected US$1 billion float are leading the pipeline, in deals that could place Jakarta as one of the world’s top exchanges this year.

The strong performance of recent listings of Harita Nickel and Merdeka Battery, which mine nickel – a key component of electric-vehicle batteries – have already made Indonesia one of the world’s hottest IPO markets this year.

Elsewhere in the region, Malaysian health supplement company DXN Holdings on Friday (Apr 28) launched a prospectus to raise up to RM708.8 million (S$211.8 million).

Thai food conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Foods this month announced its unit CPF Global Food Solution had filed an IPO application, which IFR reported could raise up to US$1 billion.

“When I look at the pipeline for the next six to 12 months, Thailand will remain active,” said Edward Lee, HSBC’s head of equity capital markets for South-east Asia. “Thailand and Indonesia are the deepest, most active markets in the region.”

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Singapore could come under the spotlight too, with some signs of interest from foreign issuers because of the city-state’s political and economic stability, said David Cheng, head of corporate finance at OCBC Bank.

Malaysian pet-food maker Pet World Nutritions is planning an IPO in Singapore, the company told Reuters in February, while Olam Group flagged it would list its agricultural unit in Singapore and Saudi Arabia as early as the first half of this year.

There are, however, some risks of politics slowing momentum, experts said, given Thailand is due for an election as early as next month, while Indonesians will vote next year.

“While the Indonesian IPO market will remain hot for the current term, it is sensitive to potential changes in the Indonesian government policies, as investors may adopt a wait-and-see approach leading up to the elections,” said Tay Hwee Ling, Deloitte South-east Asia and Singapore disruptive events advisory leader. REUTERS