China Provides the Big Deals as IPOs Slump Globally

(Bloomberg) — In a year when initial public offerings globally have slumped by more than two-thirds, one would expect the summer break to be especially quiet. Not so in Asia, where stock listings have notched their second-highest August haul on record.

First-time share sales in the Asia Pacific region totaled $14.9 billion this month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The strong showing is almost entirely due to issuers from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, which accounted for all but two of the IPOs raising at least $100 million, the data show.