China Development Bank’s leasing arm is on course to set a new Hong Kong record for locked-up shares, with an initial public offering that aims to raise up to $1.1bn but that potentially allotts as much as 90 per cent of the float to cornerstone investors.
Cornerstones, who invest in size and accept a six-month lock-up, have taken an increasing share of Hong Kong’s IPOs as lacklustre demand has led bankers to bolster order books with a handful of large investors, particularly for Chinese state-backed groups.
Hong Kong raised $34bn for IPOs last year — the most of any exchange — but also set a record with 41 per cent of all equity offered going to cornerstones, according to Dealogic.