Hong Kong SAR

Hong Kong was a hotbed of accelerated bookbuild activity this week as two biotechnology firms and a property developer raised a combined HK$6.7bn ($854m) in primary and secondary equity.

Puxin and VCredit Holdings, both of which launched IPOs earlier this week, were covered on their first day of bookbuilding.

Xiaomi Corp had its listing hearing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday, paving the way for investor education to begin on Monday if the IPO is approved.

Last week, I had the pleasure of taking a short trip back to the UK for a banker friend’s wedding. The weather was as perfect as a London spring day can be, and I was happy to get away from the usual work grumblings of bankers at the pub.

Hua Medicine has filed for an IPO in Hong Kong under sponsors CLSA and Goldman Sachs, as the promised pipeline of biotechnology issuers begins to materialise following the city’s new listing rules.

UBS has appointed Kevin Cui and Terry Schmassmann as co-heads of Asia DCM syndicate, effective immediately, according to an internal memo seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

Two Chinese online platform businesses will start pre-deal investor education for their Hong Kong IPOs on Thursday, according to bankers.

China has had a busy fortnight in capital reform, with its long-awaited entry into MSCI, and progress in plans for Chinese firms to list in London and Frankfurt. Yet it is becoming clear that regulators should focus on Hong Kong links, rather than opening up new markets.

Ronshine China Holdings was back in the equity market on Tuesday for a top-up placement, pocketing HK$1.1bn ($140.1m) overnight.

Renhe Commercial Holdings is planning a HK$2.2bn ($274.3m) rights offering that will be underwritten by its controlling shareholder.

Marc Lewell is returning to London after three years running JP Morgan’s Asia-Pacific syndicate, prompting the appointment of a new head of the desk.

Genscript Biotech Corp, a leading life sciences service provider and drug developer, has raised HK$2.39bn ($304m) after upsizing a follow-on offering, according to a source close to the deal.