Haitong International Securities is a tough firm holding its own in a regional hub for equity and debt capital markets business. Hong Kong has one of the world’s busiest and largest stock exchanges and, given its position as a global financial centre, bulge bracket banks and international firms have historically been dominant. But Chinese banks and securities firms are gaining more market share every year.
The vast majority of ECM deals and bond issuance comes from Chinese companies, while mainland-based investors are integral to the secondary market thanks to the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock connect systems. Haitong is a leading broker on both stock links, competing with main rivals Guotai Junan Securities and Huatai Securities.
The amount of Chinese money flowing into the IPO market has also increased markedly over the past year as hostility from the US keeps more mainland companies listing closer to home. Lin Yong, deputy chairman and chief executive of Haitong, has positioned the firm to capture the increasing flow of business coming south across the border.
In the 12 months to June 2020, Haitong worked on 43 ECM transactions in Hong Kong, more than any of its rivals – and just ahead of Morgan Stanley, which had 42 – according to data from Dealogic. Haitong does not always get on to the largest deals – it raised $10.8 billion compared to Morgan Stanley’s $37.3 billion – but it works on many, and has shown it can navigate testing conditions to keep that up.
As Asia’s busiest capital market, Hong Kong was hit hard by the outbreak of the coronavirus. IPOs were grounded because issuers were unable to travel for roadshows. As Covid-19 settled in there was talk of doing roadshows virtually, but it was an untested concept – until China Bright Culture launched its HK$1.35 billion ($174 million) IPO in February. Co-sponsored by Haitong and BoCom International, China Bright Culture was the first company to conduct its roadshow entirely online.
Haitong also caught on early to the trend for healthcare and property management providers in the IPO market, two sectors that have managed to outshine the overall market in the first half of the year.