Asia Centric by Bloomberg Intelligence Hong Kong Defies Global IPO Slump
Nov 26, 2025
Larry Tabb, a market structure expert at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Sharnie Wong, a senior analyst covering Asian equity markets, dive into the striking contrast in global IPO trends. They discuss why Hong Kong is flourishing with a pipeline of over 300 IPOs while others falter. The duo highlights regulatory factors, motivations for going public, and the rising interest of Chinese firms shifting from the US to Hong Kong. They also explore the broader economic implications of dwindling IPOs and potential policy solutions to revive markets.
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Regulation And Litigation Deter IPOs
- Public companies face heavier disclosure, litigation, and governance burdens than decades ago, pushing firms to stay private.
- Larry Tabb argues these cumulative costs and richer private capital markets reduce incentives to IPO.
Private Mega‑Valuations Concentrate Wealth
- Fewer IPOs concentrate wealth among private investors and widen income disparity versus broad public ownership.
- Larry Tabb warns private mega‑valuations limit wealth creation for ordinary shareholders.
Reduce Lawsuit Risk To Encourage Listings
- Allow arbitration clauses and reform proxy rules to lower shareholder‑litigation risk for new public issuers.
- Paul Atkins (via Larry Tabb) also recommends simplifying proxy processes to remove governance frictions.