ECM Weekly (17 November 2018) - Softbank Corp, Tongcheng-Elong, Junshi Bio, QSR, Sinochem Energy

The ECM space is still fairly quiet with no new listings but there is no doubt we are heading into a busy few weeks soon. Tongcheng-Elong Holdings Ltd (780 HK) finally launched its IPO, seeking to raise just US$232m down from the estimated US$800m from earlier news reports. In Australia, Heathley Healthcare REIT has also started its A$225m bookbuild and will close on the 21st of November.

We are also hearing a few Hong Kong companies seeking approval or starting their pre-marketing next week. After a good debut by Innovent Biologics Inc (1801 HK) , Tianjin CanSino Biotechnology Inc (1337013D HK) is looking to pre-market its US$100 - 150m IPO while WuXi AppTec Co Ltd (603259 CH) which is already listed in China is looking to pre-market next Monday. Natural Food, which claims to be the second largest health food company in China, is also looking to pre-market next week. Asiainfo Technologies (1119892D CH), which Ke Yan, CFA, FRM has already covered in AsiaInfo Tech (亚信科技) IPO: Cost Control Is the Key (Part 1), is seeking IPO hearing next week as well.

Whereas, in Singapore, Wearnes Automotive a luxury car distributor which bought from United Engineers (UEM SP) in 2014, has received approval for its US$217m IPO and Ascenda-Singbridge is said to be mulling a US$500m REIT IPO.

In Japan, Softbank Corp (9434 JP) is gearing up towards its massive US$21bn IPO with an estimated share price of JPY1,500 and the company is promising a payout ratio of 85%, which as expected is implying a higher yield than its peers.

While activity is picking up, sentiment has not been good. Canaan Inc. (CANAAN HK) allowed its Hong Kong IPO application lapse as bitcoin falls to lowest level in a year while many of the upcoming IPOs are at much lower valuation than earlier reported such as Babytree Inc (BABYTRE HK) , Tongcheng-Elong Holdings Ltd (780 HK) , and Mogu (MOGU US) .