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WHEN CHINESE garbage company Fujian Fengquan Environmental Protection Co. decided to list its shares overseas, it made what seemed like an odd choice: It chose the German stock exchange Deutsche Boerse AG.
With China's market booming, prices probably would have been higher back home. And historically, when Chinese companies have done initial public offerings abroad, they have usually chosen New York or London.
But Fengquan is one of several Chinese companies starting to take advantage of capital markets in continental Europe. A sign of China's broadening economic relations overseas, these companies are looking to markets like Frankfurt, the German financial capital, to take advantage of business ties or to boost their brands in Europe. In July, Fengquan listed in Frankfurt as ZhongDe Waste Technology AG, raising $130 million and moving its headquarters to Hamburg, Germany, from the Chinese province of Fujian.
Earlier this month, Asian Bamboo AG completed its listing on Frankfurt's main exchange, raising $130 million. Vtion Wireless Technology AG announced this week that it is doing a pre-IPO road show and expects to raise as much as $150 million.
Depending on market conditions, German underwriters expect an additional half dozen to list on the main board next year, too.
Still, even if all these deals come to fruition, Frankfurt and other European exchanges won't soon challenge New York or Hong Kong for dominance in overseas listings of Chinese companies.
Europe has less than 1% of the total dollar value of Chinese companies' initial public offerings. About 96% have listed in Hong Kong with the rest in Singapore and New York.
But Chinese listings in continental Europe are likely to rise as Chinese companies move more aggressively into Europe, where they are slowly starting to penetrate.
The listings are supported by a new policy by Deutsche Boerse to seek out Chinese companies. The stock-market operator began two years ago to court Chinese companies and support local underwriters, like Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie., a privately held German investment bank. The Cologne-based firm recently opened an office in Hong Kong and has had a hand in all recent listings.
'We think we can get enough companies to create a critical mass in Frankfurt so that investors and analysts pay attention to the companies,' said Wolfgang Jensen, Oppenheim's managing director for investment banking.
The Chinese companies are taking advantage of IPO growth on European exchanges, which last year had a higher value of IPOs than U.S. markets. Also, some non-U.S. companies have been turned off by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which tightens accounting and disclosure requirements for companies listed on U.S. exchanges.
Recent turbulence in U.S. markets stemming from the subprime-mortgage debacle also has made Europe seem more attractive, as has the strength of the euro.
Most decisive are specific corporate strategies that call for a strong European presence, which a local IPO can help cultivate. ZhongDe builds small-scale incinerators and relies on Chinese technology, but it hopes to move to larger plants and use imported technology. A listing in Frankfurt allows ZhongDe to recast itself as a Germany-based company and to tap into that country's expertise in environmental technology, said George Lee, head of the company's investor relations.
'If we can use German branding and extend our technology into Germany, then we can create value for the company,' Mr. Lee said. 'We can become an advanced-technology company.'
Likewise, Asian Bamboo wants to use Germany's reputation as a leader in environmental protection to expand its business. The company runs bamboo plantations, using the fast-growing plant for construction and paper. Vtion makes wireless cards for computers and hopes to enter into partnerships with German technology companies.
The new companies listing in Frankfurt are placing themselves in the exchange's 'Prime Standard' segment, the Deutsche Boerse's higher-end listings that are required to have the highest transparency. Mr. Jensen of Oppenheim said doing this give the companies more credibility -- and hopefully creates more liquidity in their shares.
Earlier this month, Deutsche Boerse presented a study arguing that the Frankfurt market offers lower comparable listing costs than the London Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market or Euronext.
'It has to make sense for the companies, but we think we have something to offer in terms of price,' said Rainer Riess, managing director of Deutsche Boerse's business development. 'We want to be a real alternative.'
中国垃圾处理公司福建丰泉环保公司(Fujian Fengquan Environmental Protection Co.)在决定赴海外上市时做出了一个看似奇怪的选择：在德国证券及衍生工具交易所(Deutsche Boerse AG，简称：德国证交所)上市。
随着中国股市的大幅走强，国内股价可能比国外更高。不仅如此，一直以来中国公司在海外上市通常会选择纽约或伦敦的证券交易所。
虽然如此，已经有几家中国公司开始利用欧洲大陆的资本市场，而丰泉环保就是其中之一。这些公司在德国金融之都法兰克福这样的股市寻找机会，利用欧洲的商业关系或在欧洲提升公司品牌，这都显示出中国正在拓宽与海外的经济联系。今年7月份，丰泉环保在法兰克福上市，上市公司名称为中德环保科技集团 (ZhongDe Waste Technology AG)。该公司共筹集资金1.3亿美元，还将公司总部从中国福建搬到了德国汉堡。
本月早些时候，亚洲竹业股份有限公司(Asian Bamboo AG)在德国证交所成功上市，共筹集资金1.3亿美元。网讯技术(Vtion Wireless Technology AG)本周宣布正在进行首次公开募股(IPO)前的巡回推介，预计将最多融资1.5亿美元。
德国的承销商预计，根据市场状况，明年可能还会有六家左右的中国公司在德国主板上市。
即使所有这些上市计划都变为现实，法兰克福和其他欧洲证券交易所在短期内仍不会威胁到纽约和香港作为中国公司海外上市聚集地的地位。
在中国公司的海外IPO总值中，欧洲股市所占比例还不到1%，香港约占96%，其余部分在新加坡和纽约。
但随着中国公司加大进军欧洲市场的力度，很可能会有更多的中国企业在欧洲大陆上市。
德国证交所制定了吸引中国公司的新政策，这也确实为中国公司的上市提供了支持。该证交所两年前开始采取措施吸引中国公司，并为Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie这样的当地承销商提供支持。Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie是一家总部位于科隆的德国投资银行，最近在香港设立了办事处，并参与了最近所有中国公司在德国证交所的上市。
Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie的投资银行业务董事总经理沃夫冈•詹森(Wolfgang Jensen)说，“我们认为可以使在法兰克福上市的中国公司达到足够的数量，以便引起投资者和分析师的注意。”
欧洲证交所的IPO数量增长迅猛，去年欧洲的IPO融资金额就超过了美国。不仅如此，萨班斯-奥克斯利法案(Sarbanes-Oxley Act)的推出对在美上市的公司提出了更为严格的会计和信息批露要求，一些非美国公司因而放弃在美上市。
最近美国股市因次级抵押贷款危机而出现动荡，相比之下，欧洲股市看上去更具吸引力;并且欧元的走强也是个值得考虑的因素。
但更具决定性的因素是有些公司的战略要求其在欧洲大力开展业务，而在欧洲当地上市则有助于该战略的实施。目前中德环保主要生产采用中国技术的小型焚烧炉，但该公司希望能搬到更大的厂房去，并使用进口技术。中德环保投资者关系负责人George Lee说，在法兰克福上市使中德环保成为总部在德国的公司，还可以利用德国在环保技术方面的专业知识。
George Lee说，如果可以利用在德国塑造的品牌并在德国升级我们的技术，那么就可以为公司创造价值;公司就可以成为采用先进技术的企业。
同样，亚洲竹业也希望利用德国在环保方面的声誉扩大公司业务。该公司经营竹子种植园，将生长迅速的竹子用于建筑和造纸。网讯技术生产电脑无线网卡，希望能与德国的技术公司建立合作伙伴关系。
这些公司选择在德国证交所主板上市，这里汇聚了高端上市公司，要求具有非常高的透明度。Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie的詹森说，选择在主板上市可以增加公司的信誉，有望增加股票的流动性。
本月早些时候，德国证交所公布了一份研究报告，指出该证交所的上市成本比伦敦、纽约、纳斯达克或欧洲证券交易所都要低。
德国证交所的业务发展部董事总经理赖纳•里斯(Rainer Riess)说，“成本对公司而言必须要合理，我们认为自己在价格方面具有吸引力。我们希望能真正与其他证交所抗衡。” |
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发表于 2016-7-10 09:19:48