Equity Capital Markets
The equity capital markets in Asia ex-Japan saw a total of $1.9 billion raised from 16 transactions in the first week of the year. Reliance Industries' $574 million follow-on offering in India, which was led by Citi and Morgan Stanley, was the largest deal of the week.
In 2009, equity capital markets activity climbed 97% to $166.4 billion from $84.4 billion in 2008. The increase was mainly driven by a 146% surge in IPO issuance in the region to the second highest annual level ever, or just below the record $261.9 billion raised from new listings in 2007. Activity of 1,413 trades was also almost double the level achieved in 2008....