If the appetite in the West is cooling for Chinese stocks, what does that mean for the Alibaba IPO, wonders James Dennin on Kapitall.com?
So far in 2014, the MSCI China stock index has fallen about 12% from its 52-week high in late December. That isn't an ideal situation for the 10-odd Chinese IPO deals worth half a billion or more that are slated for this spring.
Discounting the massive Alibaba IPO—which by some estimates is expected to be the biggest technology IPO of all time—Chinese firms hope to raise as much as $10 billion in the first half of 2014 alone.
As the activity ramps up, American and other Western investors are starting to cool on the country as a whole. Chinese economic data hasn't been good this year, and stocks are expensive. Chinese IPOs did great in 2013, after a wave of de-listings prompted authorities to heighten the standards for firms that wanted to go public.
The weakening demand has prompted some Chinese CEOs to take to Twitter (TWTR) and urge their fellow countrymen considering IPOs to hurry up and "get it done" before the market cools further.
We built a list of some of the biggest Chinese IPOs in the last year. Would adding to the pile of already expensive Chinese stocks jeopardize their progress or inspire new faith in young firms?
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1. Autohome Inc. (ATHM): Operates as an online destination for automobile consumers in the People’s Republic of China. Market cap at $3.58B, most recent closing price at $32.80. IPO Date: 12/10/13.
2. Qunar Cayman Islands Limited (QUNR): Operates online travel commerce platform for travel service providers (TSPs) and display advertisers in the People’s Republic of China. Market cap at $2.82B, most recent closing price at $22.26. IPO Date: 10/31/13.
3. 500.com Limited (WBAI): Provides online sports lottery services in the People’s Republic of China. Market cap at $1.15B, most recent closing price at $32.95. IPO Date: 11/22/13
4. Sungy Mobile Limited (GOMO): Provides mobile Internet products and services in the People’s Republic of China and internationally. Market cap at $555.86M, most recent closing price at $14.82. IPO Date: 11/13/13.
By James Dennin of Kapitall.com
