China-Based Issuers Lead Depositary Receipt Capital Raising Activity in 2019

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--China-based issuers led initial public offerings (IPOs) and follow-on offerings in depositary receipt (DR) form in 2019, representing more than half of all DR activity, according to an industry report from Citi.

China-based issuers raised a combined US$10.0 billion, according to Citi’s report, accounting for 58% of the total DR capital raised in 2019. Among these issuers, Huatai Securities Co., Ltd, a leading integrated securities group in China, raised US$1.7 billion in its June 2019 GDR offering, being the first Chinese company to list on the London Stock Exchange via the Shanghai-London Stock Connect. In addition, Pinduoduo Inc., an e-commerce platform, conducted a $1.6 billion follow-on offering in the largest DR secondary offering of the year.

Citi played an integral role in bringing the Shanghai-London Stock Connect to market, working closely with regulators, exchanges, law firms, custodians and brokers to help build the network and capabilities required to service issuers intending to utilize the Connect arrangement.

“Citi continues to be a leader in the DR industry being the first depositary bank to implement a Shanghai-London Connect GDR program,” said Nancy Lissemore, Global Head of Depositary Receipt Services at Citi. “We strive to expand the DR product globally and provide our clients and their investors with the highest level of service.”

Other Notable DR Market Highlights from 2019 include:

• The Internet and Oil & Gas sectors accounted for 45% of the total DR trading value.
• 33 issuers completed IPOs by way of the JOBS Act.
• Trading volume of unsponsored ADR programs decreased 12% from 2018 to 4.6 billion, primarily due to decreases in trading volume from Chinese issuers.
• Unsponsored ADR programs from China and Japan accounted for 48% of the total unsponsored trading volume.

Citi is a leading provider of depositary receipt services. With depositary receipt programs in 67 markets, spanning equity and fixed-income products, Citi leverages its global network to provide cross-border capital market access to issuers, intermediaries and investors.

Recognizing Citi’s sophisticated capabilities and depositary receipt platform, the firm was awarded “Best GDR Bank” by Global Finance magazine in the 2019 Best Depositary Receipt Awards. In addition, Citi was also awarded the “Best DR Bank for Capital Raising” for being the leader in this category both in terms of capital raised and in the number of capital raisings in 2018.

For more details on 2019 DR highlights, please refer to the Citi DR website: www.citi.com/dr.

Citi

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

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