World initial public offering (IPO) activity hit a record high in 2006 with $227 billion raised on 1,559 offerings between January and November, up $167 billion on all of 2005, according to a study by Ernst & Young.
The centre for IPO activity was the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with 17 per cent of all IPOs, followed by the London Stock Exchange with 15 per cent, the research from Ernst & Young found.
This year also saw the largest single IPO ever recorded with the listing of ICBC in China raising $22 billion. The Bank of China and Rosneft both raised $10 billion, while the top 20 deals all saw at least $1.3 billion raised.
“The capital markets continued to globalize in 2006,” says Gregory Ericksen, Ernst & Young’s global vice chairman of strategic growth markets. “We’ve seen an increase in cross-border listings and stronger competition between exchanges, creating more options than ever for both investors and companies looking to go public.”
42 per cent of all capital was raised in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), while the Asia/Pacific region took 34 per cent. North America and Central/South America (including the Caribbean) took 20 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.