DR issuance accelerated globally in the third quarter of the year, led by increased activity in Asia.
An $850 mn global DR issued by Taiwan’s Fubon Financial Holding in July boosted total DR issuance in the quarter to $2 bn from $1.4 bn in the second quarter, according to data compiled by financial services company BNY Mellon. Capital raised through DRs worldwide rose to $5.6 bn in the first nine months of the year, with almost half of that – $2.6 bn – coming from Asia.
‘Third-quarter activity builds on the momentum created earlier in 2013 with China’s LightInTheBox IPO and Japan’s UBIC capital raising,’ says Christopher Kearns, chief executive of BNY Mellon’s DR business, in a press release. ‘We’re seeing a steady uptick in the companies coming to market as well as investor appetite for those offerings, both from developed and developing countries.’
Trading in DRs fell in the quarter, with the total value traded declining 7 percent from the same period last year to $7.9 tn and the number of DRs traded dropping 3 percent to 108 bn, BNY Mellon says. The decline follows a 26 percent year-on-year drop in DR trading in 2012.
Western Europe was the world’s most active region in terms of DR trading, with a total of 35 bn DRs valued at $718 bn traded, followed by Latin America, with 30 bn DRs worth $460 bn, and Asia-Pacific, with trading of 23 bn DRs worth $466 bn.
