Opinion | Hong Kong isn’t a top destination for Southeast Asian tech IPOs. Here’s why it should be
- The likes of Grab and Traveloka are mulling US listings, but Hong Kong’s size and tech-stocks experience give it an advantage over exchanges in Singapore and Indonesia
- With Chinese capital now increasingly involved in private tech deals in Southeast Asia, the groundwork has been laid to benefit both the city and the region’s tech ecosystem
This is in addition to the dozens of smaller tech companies (valued between US$500 million and US$2 billion) that have been approached by various special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs – shell companies that raise funds in an initial public offering (IPO) with the intention of buying a private company and merging with it so the acquired company becomes listed. Grab is also in talks with a SPAC for a listing, according to reports on Friday.
While the Indonesian companies are talking about US-Indonesia dual listings, most of the top-tier companies seem to be pretty sure that the United States is their listing destination.
Sea Group – which owns the region’s largest gaming platform, Garena, and biggest e-commerce platform Shopee – is a role model for many aspiring companies going for an IPO. Sea has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2017 and its stock price rose fivefold last year.
The region’s stock exchanges are also sharpening their knives, trying to cash in on this listing trend. The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is reportedly changing rules to allow SPACs by the end of this year, while the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) is working on a series of reforms, including dual-class shares.
HOW ABOUT HONG KONG?
