Investors lapped up Singapore Global Logistic Properties' (GLP) IPO but shunned the non-precious metals unit of London-listed gold miner Petropavlovsk Plc in a day of mixed fortunes for Asian share offerings. Asia has led the world in initial public offerings so far this year, raising $89.9 billion in the first nine months of the year as investors shift funds to emerging markets, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.
In contrast, IPOs in the United States brought in $11.8 billion while $27.3 billion was raised in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Besides GLP and Petropavlovsk unit IRC, other large Asian IPOs currently ongoing include AIA, the Asian life insurance arm of American International Group which plans to raise about $15 billion, Singapore property trust Mapletree Industrial and Philippine budget carrier Cebu Air.
Cebu Air priced its share sale at 125 pesos each, near the midpoint of its indicative range, that could raise at least $538 million, making it the Philippines' largest ever IPO. Fund flows tracker EPFR estimates more than $6 billion flowed into emerging market equity funds in the week to October 6, the highest since the fourth quarter of 2007 and the second best figure on record.
"With the value of the US dollar slumping to multi-year lows versus other major currencies, flows into emerging markets assets and commodities accelerated sharply in early October," EPFR said in a statement. In Singapore, sources said GLP, a unit of sovereign wealth fund Government of Singapore Investment Corp, looks set to raise at least S$3.5 billion after it priced its IPO at the top of the range.
GLP is selling 1.762 billion shares at S$1.96 apiece, against an indicative range of S$1.78-S$1.96, sources told Reuters. The company has an option to sell an additional 234.6 million shares if the issue managers exercise a greenshoe option, which would hike the sum raised to S$3.9 billion ($2.99 billion). The pricing of GLP's initial public offering takes place three days ahead of schedule following strong demand from investors. GLP had originally planned to price its IPO on October 11.
"The demand has been accelerated. We are trying to close everything today," a source working on the deal told Reuters. The source said the institutional tranche is currently over 15 times subscribed with orders from more than 400 accounts. In Hong Kong, IRC, which explores, develops and operates industrial commodities projects in the Russian Far East and north-eastern China, reduced the size of its IPO by half and will now raise about $250 million instead of an originally planned $513 million. Shares of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co Ltd, China's second-largest wind turbine maker, rose as much as 6.6 percent on their stock market debut in Hong Kong as investors bet on strong demand for the alternative energy sector.
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