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Australia equity capital markets in decline

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By Miranda Brownlee
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3 minute read

Australia’s equity capital markets declined 17.2 per cent to US$11.9 billion this year so far, according to an Australia Equity Capital Market (ECM) preliminary review for the first nine months of 2013, released by Thomson Reuters.

According to the review, this is the lowest nine-month period since 2003 (US$9.4 billion). The third quarter did, however, generate US$4.3 billion in proceeds, a 9.5 per cent increase from the previous quarter.

Initial public offerings (IPOs) have experienced considerable growth since the same period in 2012, with a 355.4 per cent increase bringing the total to $1.1 billion. Follow-on offerings, however, declined six per cent from the same period last year, totalling US$10.4 billion and accounting for 87.5 per cent of Australia’s ECM volume. The report stated this was due to the 20.5 per cent fall in insurance.

The largest IPO from an Australian issuer this year was Virtus Health’s US$332.6 million IPO deal - the largest since Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group’s US$490.3million IPO in November 2012.

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The research showed convertible insurances declined 84.9 per cent from the first nine months of 2012, amounting to US$467.3 million this year so far. This is the lowest period for convertibles since 1998 (US$4666.0 million), according to the review.

The industrial sector accounted for 21.0 per cent of the market share, producing US$2.51 billion in proceeds, overtaking the financial sector of US$1.8 billion. This amounted to a 164.9 per cent growth in the industrial sector since the first nine months of 2012.

The financial sector, however, experienced its lowest nine-month level since 2000 with a 53.1 per cent decline from the same nine-month period last year.

The real estate industry performed exceptionally well, with an increase or 676.6 per cent from the same period the previous year, bringing proceeds to a total of US$2.50 billion.

UBS ranks first for Australian ECM underwriting with a 40.2 per cent market share worth US$4.8 billion in related proceeds. Macquarie Group rose from its fourth spot to second, accounting for 14.0 per cent of the market share for the first nine months of 2013 with US$1.7 billion in related proceeds.