(Bloomberg) -- Property developer Powerlong Real Estate Holdings Ltd. raised HK$791.6 million ($101 million) in its first share placement since listing 10 years ago, just as additional share sales by Hong Kong-listed companies fall to their lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.

Companies in the financial hub have raised just $3.57 billion through primary share placements this year, a 57% drop year-on-year and the lowest year-to-date since 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The decline in Hong Kong is steeper than for the whole of Asia, where additional share offerings have tumbled 46% from a year earlier.

Including block trades, the picture is equally bleak. All additional offerings in Hong Kong, both of new shares and existing ones, have dropped 56% year-on-year, the data show.

The anti-government protests gripping Hong Kong are grinding on into their fifth month, denting business sentiment and threatening to tilt the economy into recession as numerous events -- from investment conferences to concerts -- have been canceled.

Notwithstanding the decline compared with last year, October is shaping up to be a good month for additional offerings in 2019, with $369.7 million raised so far excluding Powerlong Real Estate. In terms of deal value, that makes it the third-highest month this year after April and July.

Biotech company Innovent Biologics Inc. raised $304.3 million two weeks ago while property developer China Vanke Co. raised $994.5 million earlier this year in what is the largest additional sale of new shares so far, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

UPCOMING LISTINGS:

  • Keboda Technology
    • Size $166m
    • Shanghai stock exchange
    • Priced Sept. 3; listing date TBA
    • CICC
  • Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank
    • Size $1.5b
    • Shanghai stock exchange
    • Taking orders next week; listing date TBA
    • CICC, China Sec.
  • JS Global Lifestyle Co. Ltd.
    • Hong Kong stock exchange
    • Size $500m
    • Premarketing Oct. 2-11
    • Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, ICBC International
  • Bangkok Commercial Asset Management
    • Thailand stock exchange
    • Size at least $700m
    • Meeting overseas investors this week
  • Lotte REIT
    • Korea stock exchange
    • Size $353m
    • Listing date Oct. 30
    • HSBC, Korea Investment & Securities, Nomura
  • Home Credit
    • Hong Kong stock exchange
    • Consumer finance unit of Czech billionaire Petr Kellner’s PPF Group
    • Premarketing started Sept.
    • Citi, HSBC, Morgan Stanley
  • China Feihe Ltd.
    • Hong Kong stock exchange
    • Size about $1b
    • Premarketing as soon as this week
    • JPMorgan, CMS, CCB International

More ECM situations we are following:

  • Latitude Financial Group Ltd., an Australian non-bank consumer lender, started gauging demand for its initial public offering, which could raise about A$1.04 billion ($706 million).
  • Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. delayed what would’ve been the nation’s biggest initial public offering and instead will raise 35.3 billion pesos ($685 million) by selling shares to KKR & Co. and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte.
  • PT Tokopedia, the online marketplace backed by the SoftBank Vision Fund and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., has begun discussions with potential investors for what’s likely to be its final private funding round before a dual stock market listing.
  • Retail Food Group has increased its total equity raising to up to A$190m, consisting of a fully underwritten A$170m institutional placement and share purchase plan of up to A$20m, it said in regulatory filing.

SEE ALSO

  • Asia ECM Weekly Agenda
  • IPO data
  • U.S. ECM Watch
  • EU ECM Watch
  • To receive the ECM Watch in your inbox daily, click the “subscribe” button at the top of this article

To contact the reporter on this story: Julia Fioretti in Hong Kong at jfioretti4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lianting Tu at ltu4@bloomberg.net, Margo Towie, Teo Chian Wei

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