UBS

Four mainland technology companies kicked off pre-deal investor education for their Hong Kong IPOs on Monday, gauging the market’s appetite ahead of bookbuilding in early November, according to sources close to the listings.

Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp raised Ps34.1bn ($634.2m) on Thursday after selling shares in subsidiary San Miguel Food and Beverage at the bottom of the price guidance.

Pietro Novelli, the new co-head of UBS Investment Bank, defended the co-head structure the firm opted for following the departure of Andrea Orcel to run Santander, against the charge from one analyst that "dual leadership never works".

Global equity markets were slammed this week, with a rout on Wednesday wiping out all the gains this year in the US. Amid the turmoil, a handful of technology firms were awaiting approvals to list in Hong Kong — some are expected to take a cautious approach but most are gearing up for a last-minute dash to find a closing IPO window. Jonathan Breen reports.

Eurotorg, the largest supermarket chain in Belarus, has fixed a price range for its landmark IPO on the London Stock Exchange, which could value the company at almost $1bn.

Summit Partners has launched the first selldown of shares in Avast, the Czech cyber security company, since its £602m IPO on the London Stock Exchange in May.

Zur Rose, the Swiss online pharmacy that went public last year, plans to raise Sfr200m via a rights issue to fund its takeover of the e-commerce operations of Medpex, a competitor in Germany.

San Miguel Food and Beverage (SMFB) unveiled a sharply scaled-down secondary offering as it turned cautious after the global selloff in equity markets, with its deal now expected to raise just Ps33.1bn ($613.8m).

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank entered the Swiss franc bond market on Thursday, selling Sfr100m ($101m) of February 2024 bonds.

Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel (BFCM) has sold Sfr100m ($100.6m) of November 2026 bonds, as some investors were drawn to higher absolute yields in a cheapening market.

Korea Development Bank hopped into the Australian dollar market on October 12, selling an A$400m ($284m) Kangaroo bond. Despite the volatility in the market earlier in the week, KDB had little trouble sealing the popular deal.

Asia International School (AISL) is tapping the offshore market for a debut loan of up to $180m.