IPO action slows in January

In this, the first of FinanceAsia's monthly IPO performance bulletins, we highlight the activity of January's largest eight offerings that are publicly traded.

A total of 32 initial public offerings in Asia ex-Japan raised $2.248 billion dollars in January .

This was a sharp drop from the same month last year, which saw 75 deals raise $5.435 billion.

The Bank of Xian's $306 million January 22 listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange was the largest last month, followed by Maoyan Entertainment's $250 million listing through the Hong Kong Exchange's main board on January 28.

Both of these and others that have not begun trading will be included in next month's performance bulletin.

Top 10 IPOs in January in terms of deal size

Of the issues that are trading, S Prime Growth Leasehold Real Estate Investment Trust was the largest deal up to January 20, through its $141 million offering on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Share price performance since IPO in descending deal size

Pharmaron Beijing was the standout performer this month, seeing its stock soar 75.44% after its $74 million debut on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange-ChiNext board on January 28.

Chengdu Expressway was the weakest performer as its $112 million offering traded sideways on its debut price.

Sector comparison

With volumes down on January last year, the largest losers were in the finance, real estate and food and beverage sectors, all down over 80% year-on-year.

Agribusiness, healthcare and the chemical sector all saw gains year-on-year, with Jiangsu Lihua Animal Husbandry raising $180 million on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange-ChiNext board on January 29.

(The sector comparison includes all IPOs that have been priced up to January 30 but may not necessarily have started trading at February 1.)