The number of initial public offerings (IPO) on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) is expected to slightly rebound from 19 last year to 24 this year due to an improving local economy and technology firms seeking to raise capital from equity markets, the exchange said yesterday.
Last year’s IPO count fell 34 percent from 29 in 2018, missing a TWSE target of 28, as many companies delayed their debuts given uncertainty in the global and local economies, TWSE Chairman Hsu Jan-yau (許璋瑤) told a news conference in Taipei.
Many foreign bourses also reported declines in IPO activity due to companies’ conservative outlook, Hsu said.
The number of IPOs on the London Stock Exchange fell 42 percent to 63, while on the New York Stock Exchange, they halved to 28, he said.
However, with economic uncertainty expected to ease and growth to improve in Taiwan, the TWSE expects IPO activity to recover this year, TWSE Senior Vice President Joe Cheng (鄭村) said, adding that a few companies have already expressed an intention to go public, including budget airline Tigerair Taiwan Ltd (台灣虎航).
“We will have a clearer picture after March, when companies disclose their earnings results for the whole year of last year. Some companies might resume IPO launches if their financial performance was solid last year,” Cheng said.
The TWSE would continue to look for companies that have good earnings results to fuel IPO momentum, Cheng said.
Although the National Development Council last month said that artificial intelligence developer Appier Inc (沛星互動科技) and electric scooter maker Gogoro Inc (睿能創意) are unicorns, as they were valued at US$1 billion each, they have not yet decided whether to debut in Taiwan this year, he said.
The TWSE did not make a prediction about how much capital would be raised through IPOs this year, as it would depend on how attractive each debut is, he said.
Last year, NT$23.32 billion (US$774.62 million) was raised through IPOs, compared with NT$16.73 billion in 2018, TWSE data showed.
Cheng said that he did not expect any substantial impact from the planned resumption of cross-border listings between the Shanghai and London exchanges.
“Taiwan’s equity market is not a substitute for its Chinese peer,” Cheng said.
The cross-border listings would make it more convenient for foreign investors to invest in Chinese stocks, as China has strict control on inflows, outflows and stock investments, he said.
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