AI boom puts Asia equity fundraising on track for record

Companies across the Asia-Pacific region have collected $327.1 billion from equity offerings so far this year, according to LSEG figures that Reuters cited. That total is 53% above the level recorded a year earlier, and it puts the region on pace to challenge the 2021 record.

To beat the full-year 2021 figure of $557.6 billion, the region would need to raise a further $230.6 billion in the last quarter, which would mean a record quarterly total. High-technology firms have contributed $125.8 billion, roughly 38% of the total and more than three times their figure from the same period last year, with AI infrastructure spending on chips, data centres and power systems cited as a major driver.

Several large offerings are also in the pipeline, including potential raises of around $5 billion each by Firmus, DayOne and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co, per the Reuters report. Bankers quoted by Reuters said investors are becoming more selective, and that liquidity remains open to firms able to show earnings linked to AI spending instead of an AI narrative alone.