The IPO Buzz: The Asian Connection

Asia is in focus this week. A strong connection to Asia is the common thread linking three of the seven small-cap deals on the IPO Calendar for the week of July 11, 2022. China, Japan and Malaysia are in the mix. If all seven deals get done, bankers expect to raise $76.5 million.

Nano Labs Ltd. (NA proposed), the Cayman Islands parent of a Chinese maker of fabless chips, produced mostly for cryptocurrency miners, and Warrantee Inc. (WRNT proposed), a Japanese insurance services provider and marketing company, are set to price their IPOs on Monday night, July 11, to trade Tuesday, July 12.

Treasure Global Inc. (TGL proposed), a New York-based company that offers a Malaysian e-payment app that gives instant rebates, is scheduled to price its IPO on Wednesday night, July 13, to trade Thursday, July 14.

AMTD Global Markets, Maxim Group and Tiger Brokers are the joint book-runners of Nano Labs Ltd.’s IPO. The deal consists of 1.8 million shares at $11.35 to $11.51 to raise $20.2 million. The IPO’s size was cut last week.

Network 1 Financial Securities is the sole book-runner of Warrantee’s IPO of 2.14 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at $6 to $8 to raise $15 million.

EF Hutton is the sole book-runner of Treasure Global’s IPO of 3 million shares at $4 to $6 to raise $15 million.

The rest of the week’s deals make up a small-cap variety show:

Virax Biolabs Group Limited (VRAX proposed), a diagnostic test kit maker and a provider of PPE, with Boustead Securities as the sole book-runner, is scheduled to price its tiny IPO (1.4 million shares at $5 to raise $6.8 million) on Wednesday night, July 13, to trade Thursday, July 14, and

Onfolio Holdings Inc. (ONFO proposed), the owner and manager of 18 specialized websites, with EF Hutton as the sole book-runner, is set to price its small-cap IPO (1.7 million units – stock and warrants – at $4.50 to $5.50 to raise $9.0 million) on Thursday night, July 14, to trade Friday, July 15.

Two tiny NASDAQ uplistingsNetcapital Inc. (NCPL/NCPLW proposed) from sole book-runner ThinkEquity and NeoVolta, Inc. (NEOV proposed) from sole book-runner Maxim Group – are also on this week’s pricing roster.

Most IPO pros say they expect this trend of small-cap deals run by boutique investment banks to continue throughout the summer.

“The big banks are waiting for the stock market to stabilize,” a veteran IPO trader says.

The three major U.S. stock indexes dipped on Friday following a strong U.S. jobs report for June.

For the week, though, stocks rose, and you could almost hear Wall Street exhale just before heading home or on to Happy Hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8 percent for the week, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.9 percent.

The tech-driven NASDAQ Composite Index, the barometer of the IPO market, shot up 4.6 percent for the week. On Friday, July 8, 2022, the NASDAQ advanced for the fifth straight session, booking its longest winning streak of the year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Meanwhile, the traffic at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s filing window slowed sharply in the past week. It resembled the snail’s pace of midtown Manhattan after the city empties out for a big beach weekend.

Only one new filingGigaCloud Technology Inc. (GCT proposed) slipped into the SEC’s hopper last week.

When the SEC opens for business on Monday morning, we will see whether the ultra-slow summer pace holds or not.

Stay tuned.

(For more information, please see our IPO Calendar – Click on the company’s name and the hyperlink will take you to the IPO Profile, which includes a link to the prospectus.)

(Never trade on proposed symbols. You might wind up owning something on the OTC Bulletin Board.)

Disclosure: Nobody on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned above, nor do they trade or invest in IPOs. The IPOScoop.com staff does not issue advice, recommendations or opinions.

Disclaimer: A SCOOP Rating (Wall Street Consensus of Opening-day Premiums), is a general consensus taken, at press time, from Wall Street and investment professionals concerning how well an IPO might perform when it starts trading. The SCOOP Rating does not reflect the opinions of anyone associated with IPOScoop.com. The SCOOP ratings should not be taken as investment advice. The rating merely reflects the opinion of the professionals at the time of publication and is subject to last-minute change.