A combination of global volatility, public holidays and first quarter earnings results put paid to high equity capital markets activity from Asia during April. But market participants believe the month will remain the exception to the rule during 2018 as valuations become more compelling and a strong pipeline starts to unfold, led by Xiaomi’s blockbuster initial public offering.
During April, equity markets had to grapple with two big and ongoing global issues escalating trade tensions between China and the US and an uptick in Treasury yields past the psychological 3% mark. This resulted in narrower issuance windows and far greater pricing sensitivity from investors, leading to a number of failed...