Credit Suisse Expects China Listings in Hong Kong to Rebound
Credit Suisse Expects China Listings in Hong Kong to Rebound
(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG expects investment-banking activity in Asia to pick up as China stock listings shift to Hong Kong from the U.S., according to the bank’s regional chief Helman Sitohang.
Despite the slowdown in dealmaking in the last couple of weeks following China’s crackdown on sectors ranging from technology to property, the deal pipeline in Hong Kong and the region are “building up very nicely,” Sitohang said in a Bloomberg Television interview Monday.
“I have been a banker in the region for 30 years now. One thing I know for sure is the region is very resilient,” Sitohang said. “We go through some cycles but the medium to longer term is always up.”
Chinese listings in the U.S. have almost come to a halt after the country pledged to write new rules for firms going public outside the mainland, and after U.S. regulators suspended new IPOs from companies based in China until they increase disclosures over potential risks.
The pace of IPOs has also slowed in Hong Kong since the summer as President Xi Jinping’s push to align companies with his vision of “common prosperity” caused many firms to delay listing plans. That is starting to change, Sitohang said.
“We clearly see the pipeline building up for listings in Hong Kong so we will see activity picking up again,” he said.
Credit Suisse’s Asia unit posted a record nine-month profit this year, and the region accounts for 19% of global revenue, said Sitohang, the bank’s chief executive officer for Asia-Pacific. The reorganization announced last week that folded the standalone Asia Pacific division under a simplified global structure will allow business in the region to grow faster, he said.
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