Investors and banks turn their attention to block trades

It has been a tough year so far for Asian IPOs, even if the pricing last week of IHH Healthcare’s $2 billion offering did improve the data somewhat. A large number of deals have been pulled or postponed and, aside from the largest new listings Haitong Securities in Hong Kong, Felda Global Ventures in Malaysia and IHH in Malaysia and Singapore, many of the deals that have crossed the line have been bought primarily by corporate and strategic investors. Financial institutions are not really participating, and if they do it is in small sizes.

The uncertainty about what will happen to the eurozone and signs of slowdowns in...