Coach, Prada, Michael Kors...Hong Kong 1st for IPOs

The Hong Kong Exchange has seen none less than 90 Initial Public Offers (IPO) in 2011. Big players in the fashion industry such as Michale Kors, Prada, Coach or Samsonite, just to mention but a few, chose the Asian stock market for their trading debut.

And 2012 will not see less activity, as recent statstics revealed.

Hong Kong has seen a record HK$271.3 billion raised in 2011, keeping its world number one title for a third year straight and thanks to the 90 IPOs that were launched in the Hong Kong market. However, and despite the deluge of stock debuts, the funds raised fell nearly 47 per cent below 2010's US$67.9 billion.

The second place was for the $31.4 billion raised in New York, according to data provider Dealogic, which tracks IPOs in major markets. London took the third spot with $18.1 billion, while companies raised a combined $42.4 billion in China's Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses. Final official figures on IPOs, which are issued by the World Federation of Exchanges, are expected to be released soon. And statistics released by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, revealed that the securities market had a record 39 trillion shares traded, and a record 209.6 million deals.

Despite Michael Kors and Prada were the IPOs that arose the largest buzz within the fashion industry, other big-name in this league, such as  U.S. handbag maker Coach and luggage-maker Samsonite decided to launch their IPOs on HKEX. It was also the case for Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Co., the world's largest jewelry chain, made its US$2 billion debut, while shares in local second-hand handbag retailer Milan Station closed more than 2000 times oversubscribed.

Experts in trading highlight that many retail and consumer companies are wanting to raise brand awareness and prefer to be listed in Hong Kong, due to an advantage they get when entering Chinese mainland.In this vain, it´s worthy to remember that China is the second largest market in the world for luxury goods. China overtook Japan as the world's second largest luxury goods market in 2010, as unveiled the "Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study" compiled by consultancy firm Bain & Company.