Bond and share issues and M&A deals involving Chinese companies were few and far between in 2022, a year marred by tight Covid restrictions and a distressed property market in China, as well as wider geopolitical tensions.
Yet UBS demonstrated resilience and determination in pursuing its China strategy during this difficult period. The bank completed six A-share equity financing deals, ranking as the top international bank in 2022 in terms of deal volume for underwriting A-share IPOs and private placements.
Notable transactions include ZKTeco’s Rmb1.6 billion ($223 million) IPO on Shenzhen’s ChiNext – the first IPO on ChiNext sponsored by an international bank since the launch of the Nasdaq-style board in 2009. Another remarkable transaction was the Rmb45 billion A-share private placement for battery maker CATL, the largest refinancing deal in the A-share market, where UBS was joint bookrunner.
In Hong Kong’s equity capital markets, UBS ranked top among the international banks in 2022 based on deal size. Landmark equity deals include the $2.38 billion IPO for China Duty Free Group (CDF), the largest IPO in Hong Kong since June 2021.
As the window for China/US deals narrowed because of geopolitical tensions, UBS made use of its strong global network and took Chinese companies to Europe instead.