Trends in IPOs: The Evidence from Financial Markets

This paper deals with the analysis of initial public offerings of shares in terms of their quantity and the amount of capital raised by this form of financing on the world markets. Relevant global developments will be analyzed first, followed by a description of regional situation. The analysis is based on secondary data which are processed by descriptive statistics methods. The analysis of IPO trends on the world markets indicates that, in the period of 2004-2007, IPO-based financing of corporate growth gained in importance on both developed and emerging markets. The IPO segment was dominated by the largest emerging markets (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and at the same time the US American and Western European markets decline in their importance. The world-wide economic crisis of 2008 suppressed the interest in new IPOs, particularly in the developed economies. As the economy of most countries is beginning to revive, the interest in the IPO approach from businesses and investors is on the rise. It can be expected that, in the next few years, the arena of initial public offerings will be dominated by visionary companies operating on emerging markets where the execution of an IPO will constitute the key element in securing the capital essential for further expansion.