A report by Thomson Reuters found Australia’s equity capital markets raised US$40.7 billion in the year to December 16, up 11 per cent on the previous year.
The amount raised to date this year is also the highest annual amount since 2009, when US$59.3 billion was raised in Australian capital markets.
In 2015, $5.7 billion was raised in initial public offerings, the largest of which was the IPO of Link Administration Holdings which launched in the fourth quarter and raised US$682.3 million in proceeds.
But follow-on offerings accounted for 85.3 per cent of Australia’s equity capital market activity in 2015, at US$34.7 billion.
The financials sector accounted for a majority of Australia’s equity capital markets activity, with 47 per cent of market share.
The big four banks themselves raised more than $10 billion with rights issues.
“[National Australia Bank] raised US$4.3 billion in a rights offering [in May 2015] to bolster its capital base and potentially cover costs for the demerger of its United Kingdom banking operations, Clydesdale Bank,” said Thomson Reuters.
“This equity issuance is the biggest Australian equity capital markets offering so far this year and the country’s biggest rights issuance on record,” it said.
ANZ raised $2.4 billion on 7 August, the Commonwealth Bank raised $3.6 billion on 8 September and Westpac raised $2.5 billion on 15 October.
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