United States

Coupang, an e-commerce company, is planning a $1bn IPO in the US as it gets ready to become the first South Korean firm to list in New York in 10 years.

This week in Keeping Tabs: an opportunity for the UK's finance sector after Brexit, and an argument for why you shouldn't worry about the stock market.

UK biotech firms are continuing to reap the benefits from US listings. On Tuesday Autolus Therapeutics, an early stage biopharma firm backed by Syncona Investments, became the latest UK Biotech firm to raise capital on the US Nasdaq in a $100m transaction. The deal shows the continued advantages for early stage European biotech firms in having a US listing.

A blank cheque company fronted by Andrea Pignataro, the founder and executive chairman of trading software and financial data group ION, has listed on the Nasdaq, raising $300m.

Chinese cloud-based communications provider Cloopen Group Holdings saw its stock price triple on the first day of trading, after sealing a $320m IPO above the marketed range.

Banks that mostly missed out on last year's trading and origination windfall would find it difficult to make up for lost time by leaning into investment banking; that ship has probably already sailed.

Convertible bonds are continuing to attract more mainstream attention, following dramatic outperformance of the asset class over the past year. This is driving new investors to the market.

HH&L Acquisition Corp has bagged $360m after increasing the size of its New York Stock Exchange IPO, in yet another sign that Asia-focused blank cheque companies are surging in popularity.

This week in Keeping Tabs: do investors want companies to fail on sustainability-linked bond targets? And what what happens to the economy under a Joe Biden presidency in the US?

Huge demand for exposure to biotech companies among US equity investors is continuing to drive UK firms to list on the other side of the Atlantic through an IPO on the Nasdaq. On Thursday, Immunocore, a late-stage biotech firm focused on T-cell technology, priced an enlarged offering on the exchange and, on Friday, UK healthcare investor Syncona announced it was exploring a US IPO for one of its portfolio companies.

Apple printed the biggest US corporate bond so far this year, as companies roared out of earnings blackouts this week to lock in cheap financing.

Goldman Sachs is trying to steal a march on rivals as it looks to turbo-charge its European business by leading the listings of the region’s most vibrant start-ups, writes David Rothnie.