Investors are still interested in Chinese companies. China Zhongwang’s US$1.3 billion Hong Kong-listing was the world’s largest this year and indicated to some sources that we could see a fresh new wave of Chinese listings this year. While no one expects 2009 listings to rival the good old days, some are optimistic.
Guang Xunxu, managing director for Nasdaq’s operations in China, said that he expects a good crop of Chinese listings this year.
“This year we still got a very strong pipeline,” he said today at a conference in Beijing. “Listings won’t be as affected as everyone thinks because of the financial crisis.”
Guang’s counterpart at the NYSE-Euronext, though, was less sanguine. Michael Yang said that he disagrees with the common perception that the financial crisis has presented Chinese companies with the perfect opportunity to go global. He noted that the financial crisis may have made Chinese firms gun-shy when it comes to seeking a foreign listing.
“The financial crisis has caused a recession so Chinese companies will be more prudent,” he said.
On a lighter note, a speaker at the conference related to the audience the latest knee-slapper delighting the financial world: "If you want to work in finance it’s Shanghai, Mumbai, Dubai… or bye bye." Let’s hope for all our sakes that the financial crisis doesn’t create a new wave of ex-bankers pursuing their "real dream" to be stand-up comics.
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