Exchanges/Platforms

Hong Kong-based PAG raises private equity IPO bar

29 Mar 2022

At a mooted $15 bln, the Blackstone-backed buyout shop would be valued at 30% of managed assets. Although a rich premium to U.S. peers like TPG, it’d be on par with recent deals involving Asian rivals. The test is if public-market investors assess the growth and mix the same way.

India’s foreign IPO freeze fits divided world

24 Mar 2022

New Delhi is pausing plans to allow local companies without a domestic listing to float overseas. A global tech rout, the saga around U.S.-traded Chinese firms, and Russian sanctions all help to make the worrying case. In the long run, it risks driving startups away sooner.

Hong Kong may have a buyer if it wants to dump LME

18 Mar 2022

The London Metal Exchange’s nickel-trading goofs have upset customers and damaged its good name. Owner HKEX’s vision to link western and eastern markets already faced challenges. At the right price, U.S. rival ICE might get another shot at the prize it missed out on in 2012.

Capital Calls: Tencent, Ted Baker

18 Mar 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Chinese web giant may have to separate its mobile payments business from its popular social media arm; U.S. buyout fund Sycamore can afford to be generous towards the hard-pressed UK fashion group’s shareholders.

Nickel gets nixed, French firms linger in Russia

17 Mar 2022

The war in Ukraine is affecting far corners of global finance. In the Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how the conflict helped bring nickel trading to a halt in London. And why oil giant Total and carmaker Renault are resisting the exodus by Western companies.

Capital Calls: Electric vehicles

17 Mar 2022

Concise views on global finance: Tesla and BYD price hikes show that EV makers need to push harder to slim down designs and jettison expensive materials.

LME’s nickel business is halfway out the door

16 Mar 2022

The London Metal Exchange again suspended trading in the energy transition material, a week after wiping trades. The latest mess means custom is already heading elsewhere. The LME’s best hope is that a lack of oven-ready alternative venues leads to a degree of inertia.

Nickel’s return may leave everyone underwhelmed

15 Mar 2022

The London Metal Exchange will restart trading in the commodity on Wednesday, a week after the bourse suspended the market amid epic price rises. The LME’s decision to void trades angered financial investors. New safeguards may irk traditional members it was trying to protect.

Capital Calls: China stock tumble

11 Mar 2022

Concise views on global finance: Shares sink in harsh reminder of deepening rift as U.S. regulators name first Chinese companies at risk of delisting.

Nickel’s emergency stop creates longer-term issues

9 Mar 2022

The LME suspended trading in the metal and nixed trades after prices soared. The fix avoids wider losses, and London’s idiosyncratic market may make this seem a one-off. But commodity producers fretting over Russia may now also worry about how easily they can hedge in future.

Capital Calls: Argentina, Oligarch yachts

4 Mar 2022

Concise views on global finance: Argentina’s $45 bln debt deal is hope trumping experience; Floating assets sometimes worth more than $500 million each are worthy sanctions targets.

Russia crisis is Big Crypto’s coming-of-age moment

3 Mar 2022

Major exchanges like Coinbase and Binance are still open to Russians despite the risk of sanctions evasion. If they fail to spot illicit transactions, regulators will crush the life out of them. If they pass the test – and they might – it may be their ticket to the mainstream.

Capital Calls: Snowflake’s no snowflake

3 Mar 2022

Concise views on global finance: The data warehouse firm doubled revenue, but the stock was whacked. Snowflake’s solid finances mean missteps are valuation conundrums, not existential threats.

Russia exodus tests fund managers’ liquidity limit

2 Mar 2022

Western funds worth over $4 bln have suspended redemptions after Moscow froze equity trading, while MSCI may kick the country out of its emerging market benchmarks. The crisis once again exposes the flimsiness of asset managers’ promise that customers can sell when they want.

Capital Calls: DraftKings, Shake Shack, Fanatics

18 Feb 2022

Concise views on global finance: The online gambling firm predicts fast growth but heavy losses; the U.S. burger chain had disappointing earnings yet its valuation is sky-high; the sports merchandiser teams up with Jay-Z to buy a streetwear firm for a song.

U.S. relisting for Luckin would be hard to swallow

21 Jan 2022

China’s would-be challenger to Starbucks may be plotting a market comeback after $300 mln in fake sales got it booted from Nasdaq. It has restructured and is moving towards profitability, but otherwise is covered with red flags. Even floating on a local bourse would be ambitious.

Tokyo’s prime market misses point of cachet

12 Jan 2022

An overhaul of Japanese stocks has culled the top class designed to lure foreign funds by 16%. Yet because the criteria prioritised size more than better governance, 1,841 still made the cut. A club needs exclusivity to justify premier status. This falls far short.

Southeast Asia still loves New York

10 Jan 2022

While U.S.-listed Chinese companies move home, Indonesian and Vietnamese startups are eyeing a berth in the Big Apple. Unlike their northern peers, these hopefuls are starting with home floats. Ensuring IPOs fill local coffers first is good politics and makes financial sense too.

Bankers fall under China’s offshore shadow

30 Dec 2021

Beijing is requiring foreign financial institutions that help Chinese companies list overseas to register and be monitored. Theoretically it’s easy enough to fill in the forms. In practice it means more due diligence and retroactive risk.

Chinese offshore IPO clarification looks ominous

28 Dec 2021

China’s state economic planner joins the ranks of watchdogs who can block overseas flotations, demanding firms in sensitive sectors hold foreign ownership below 30%. More red tape will further gum up the pipeline, and the rules are worrying for currently listed companies too.