Southeast Asian IPOs raise highest funds in four years

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Southeast Asian exchanges exploded with activity in 2017. More than 150 companies went public and raised about 8.9 billion US dollars, marking a 40 percent increase compared to 2016.

“If you look at growth, 40 percent more funds raised compared to last year is no mean feat,” Deloitte Singapore's Ernest Kan said.

In a review of the Southeast Asian IPO market from 2014 to 2017, Deloitte noted that the amount of funds raised was the highest in four years, thanks to strong GDP growth in the region.

Kan noted the buoyant Southeast Asian economy, with Malaysia and Indonesia achieving close to five percent GDP growth in 2017. The Philippines scored 6.9 percent GDP growth, Thailand grew by about 4 percent, while Singapore is likely to gain above 3 percent.

Looking ahead to 2018, Kan expressed optimism for Southeast Asia’s capital markets.

“Against a healthy global backdrop and resilient domestic demand that supports growth, with Southeast Asia’s GDP forecast at 5.1 percent – way exceeding the Global GDP forecast at 2.7 percent, we can expect the markets to remain dynamic and attractive to investors,” said Kan.

The outstanding performance in 2017 was led by several blockbuster listings.

Singapore-listed NetLink NBN Trust, the broadband unit of Singapore Telecommunications, took the top spot in Southeast Asia with 1.7 billion US dollars raised in July, creating the largest IPO in Singapore since 2011.

Malaysia’s Lotte Chemical Titan raised the second highest amount, although its share prices have dropped significantly since its IPO in July.

Thailand’s Gulf Energy Development raised 733 million US dollars in December, making it Thailand’s biggest corporate IPO in more than a decade.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) had 25 IPOs floated in 2017. Total funds raised reached 3.8 billion US dollars – more than double the amount raised in 2016 – making Singapore the most active IPO market in Southeast Asia.

The SGX managed to attract companies from as far as the US and Europe to list on its key Real Estate Investment Trust sector.

Looking ahead, the SGX is expected to see another healthy year of listings in 2018.

“The general positive expectations globally of economic growth, of stability posted by the 19th Party Congress in China is giving a lot of investors confidence,” said Chew Sutat, head of Equities & Fixed Income at SGX.

"We have certainly very good expectations that the first quarter and hopefully the rest of the year will be exciting and even more so than the last year,” Sutat added.