Investors ready to take punt on Aussie IPOs

After years in the doldrums, Australia’s equity markets look set for a rush of initial public offerings as investors tire of the low interest rate environment and prepare to meet issuers’ expectations on price.

The pickup in activity is already evident in first-half figures, with Thomson Reuters reporting a four-fold increase in IPO issuance in the six months to June 2013 compared to the same period last year. This is the highest first-half total since 2008.

Relative to other markets, however, volumes are still small the total raised from IPOs in the first six months was only $721 million, and over the past year only 33...