Financial Times – Companies seeking to tap Asia’s equity markets may be forced to reconsider their plans amid signs of growing nervousness among big investors, including hedge funds.
Investment bankers said recent market volatility was affecting the risk appetite of hedge funds, which had become increasingly important investors in Asian initial public offerings.
One casualty of the recent turmoil is Thai Beverages, Thailand’s biggest brewer and distiller, which is due to start trading this week after raising S$1.4bn (€695m) on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The company, which sold shares at the lower end of its indicative price range, initially hoped to raise nearly S$1.8bn.
“We have seen a hedge fund that has pulled $100m from the [Thai Beverages IPO] book,†said one banker close to the float. “These guys are momentum investors who are terrified by what they’ve seen in the markets recently.â€Â
