Aussie startups' use of backdoor listings worries regulators

Sydney

AUSTRALIA is experiencing a record-shattering boom in technology listings as startups starved of venture capital funding pursue backdoor listings, a trend that has regulators concerned companies are trying to take shortcuts to get to market.

The value of technology IPOs on the Australian Securities Exchange so far this year has hit US$1.5 billion, according to Dealogic, easily surpassing the previous annual record of US$894 million at the height of the dotcom bubble in 1999.

The boom has caught the eye of officials who are increasingly concerned about the quality of some of the new listings, particularly reverse takeovers, in a market that has attracted companies from as far…