Fundraising by Chinese technology companies on Wall Street has plunged this year against a backdrop of fraying US-China relations and Beijing’s push for its high-growth businesses to stay closer to home, reported the Financial Times.
Initial public offerings on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq by Chinese tech companies have raised less than $2 billion this year, according to Dealogic data, about 74% below the full-year total for 2018.
That suggests that the tide has turned, half a decade after Alibaba’s record $25 billion IPO in New York encouraged hundreds of Chinese tech companies to follow suit. Back in mainland China, tech listings are up more than 20% from last year at $8.3 billion this year. Meanwhile, the Star Market in Shanghai, positioned by top government officials as China’s answer to Nasdaq, has featured more than 50 IPOs since its July launch.
“A few of our companies have filed to list on the Star Market. And the Hong Kong market is also doing fairly well,” said Nisa Leung, managing partner of Qiming Venture Partners, one of China’s biggest venture capital firms. The Hang Seng is up 3% this year, despite widespread social unrest in the city.