DOMESTIC banks, brokerages and insurers plan to raise at least US$30 billion in new funds through equity offerings in the coming months, which would make 2015 the most active year for the financial services sector since 2010.

    The year started with a bang, with more than US$6 billion in equity deals in less than three months, including a US$3.9 billion private placement by China’s second-largest brokerage Haitong Securities and the US$1.6 billion Shanghai initial public offering of Orient Securities.

    Chinese banks and insurers are raising funds to strengthen their balance sheets and meet new capital adequacy rules, while brokerages are tapping the capital markets to expand their profitable margin financing and other lending businesses. The fundraising, in turn, would be a boon for investment banks targeting Hong Kong and mainland equity deals for the bulk of their fee revenues in the Asia-Pacific region.

    Fundraising through equities has suffered for years from lackluster investor interest due to concerns over nonperforming loans and weak stock markets on the Chinese mainland.

    The rush of deals this year points to a more upbeat outlook, especially for financial companies, following a series of monetary easing measures in China. The Hang Seng China H-Financials index has rallied more than 30 percent in the past year.

    In the coming months, the pipeline of expected deals includes an IPO of up to US$3 billion by China Huarong Asset Management, the country’s biggest bad-debt manager, and Hong Kong share sales worth US$2 billion each from brokerages Huatai Securities and GF Securities. (SD-Agencies)