U.S. Lags in IPO's issuance amid a Dismal Regulatory Framework
The WSJ reports: Equity-capital-markets issuance, including primary and secondary offerings and convertible bonds, has come predominantly from emerging markets this year, with eight out of 10 of the world's biggest flotations originating from Asia, according to data provider Thomson Financial. Asian-Pacific issuance has totaled $30.5 billion this year, a decrease of 26% from the first three months of last year. However initial-public-offering issuance rose 7% to $9.6 billion in Asia, according to data provider Dealogic.
European equity-capital-markets activity has totaled $20.5 billion this year, down from $60 billion in the first quarter last year. France was the leading European country for issuance, with nine issues valued at $13.1 billion, skewed by the $8.5 billion follow-on offering by Société Générale SA.
Credit-card company Visa Inc. raised $19.6 billion through an initial public offering this month, which brought the U.S. well into the lead in terms of volume. However, not including Visa's float, the U.S. saw about $1 billion raised through listings this year. This figure would have put it in fifth place in terms of volume, behind places including Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.
The second-largest float has been China Railway Construction Corp.'s $5.5 billion Hong Kong listing in February, followed by India's Reliance Power Ltd., which issued nearly $3 billion worth of new shares in the same month.
Full Story: online.wsj.com
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