HONG KONG, Sept 30 (Reuters): AB InBev's Asia-Pacific unit , which raised about $5 billion after relaunching its IPO this month, rose more than 6 per cent on its market debut in Hong Kong, easing concerns of the impact of ongoing anti-government protests on new share offerings.
Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Ltd's initial public offering (IPO) was among a handful of recent floats seen as tests of investor sentiment amid protests that have roiled Hong Kong for nearly four months.
Hong Kong as well as other regional markets more generally are also on edge amid a trade dispute between the United States and China, as well as slowing global economic growth.
The Budweiser APAC IPO is the second-biggest globally so far this year, trailing only the $8.1 billion flotation of Uber Technologies Inc in May, data from Refinitiv showed.
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (AB InBev), the world's largest brewer, relaunched the unit IPO this month after cancelling a plan for a bigger float in July citing "several factors, including the prevailing market conditions".
Budweiser APAC shares rose as high as HK$28.70 on Monday, versus their IPO price of HK$27 apiece, the bottom of a marketed range. The stock was trading at HK$28.55, up 5.7 per cent, at 1138 local time (0338 GMT), while the market index was up 0.2 per cent.
"Obviously these are challenging times in Hong Kong, but we are very confident in the strong foundation here and we are very optimistic for the bright future of Hong Kong as one of the most important financial centres in Asia," said Budweiser APAC Chief Executive Jan Craps at the listing ceremony.
Hong Kong's metro stations and roads re-opened on Monday, after a chaotic weekend that saw police fire water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who set fires and threw petrol bombs. The trigger for the protests was planned legislation, now withdrawn, that would have allowed people suspected of criminality to be sent to mainland China for trial, despite Hong Kong having its own much-respected independent judiciary.
The protests have broadened since they began more than three months ago into calls for universal suffrage.
Overall in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, equity capital market volume is down 25 per cent for the first nine-months of the year compared with the same period last year at $162.6 billion, with IPOs seeing their steepest on-year drop at 41.5 per cent, showed data from Refinitiv.
Despite the protests, IPO activity in Hong Kong has revived this month. Topsports International Holdings, the sportswear business of Chinese footwear retailer Belle International, last week launched an IPO of up to $1.2 billion.
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