Liu Minxia mllmx@msn.com NEARLY 60 Chinese companies from the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector went public in the second half of last year, raising a total of 33 million yuan (US$5.38 million), a 547 percent surge from the previous six months, PwC said in a report Wednesday. Among the 58 initial public offerings (IPOs), 30 were listed on the growth board in Shenzhen, 17 on the main board, 6 on the small and medium-sized enterprises board in Shenzhen and 5 on overseas markets. Firms raised a total of 9.1 billion yuan from the growth board, which hosted the largest number of Chinese TMT IPOs during the period, accounting for 28 percent of the total proceeds. The main board continues to be a major fundraising destination for large companies, with the 17 IPOs raising a total of 15.4 billion yuan, which accounted for 47 percent of total proceeds. “In 2017, Chinese TMT IPOs are expected to continue to rank among the top three globally,” said Wilson Chow, a TMT leader with PwC mainland and Hong Kong division. “As regulators speed up the approval of IPOs, we will see a significant increase in domestic listings by TMT firms.” Notably, five mainland TMT companies went public in Hong Kong and other overseas markets in the second half of 2016, raising a combined sum of 6.4 billion yuan. This accounted for 19 percent of the total proceeds, a 1,500 percent jump from the first half of 2016. “In the short term, the A-share market [in Shenzhen and Shanghai] will continue to be major listing destinations for TMT firms to go public,” said Alex Chan, a PwC China TMT partner. “But as several mainland TMT companies successfully listed shares in the United States and Hong Kong in the second half of last year, sustained momentum of getting listed in overseas markets will offer TMT companies an extra IPO option, especially for those that do not meet the minimum profit requirements [for launching an IPO on domestic stock exchanges] or have yet to make a profit,” Chan said. | 