Nasdaq hopes LatAm makes up for lost IPOs

According to a top Nasdaq executive, Latin American firms could replace at least part of the Chinese companies’ initial public offerings (IPOs) that have vanished from western markets this year.

Chinese companies listed in the United States are being closely inspected by regulators in Beijing and Washington, and a conflict over access to audit files may result in Chinese companies being delisted from U.S. exchanges.

Chinese listings have not yet appeared in the United States this year, compared to 29 last year. Four Latin American firms were listed, down from 20 the previous year, and 11 Southeast Asian companies, down from 19 the previous year.

Bob McCooey, the global head of capital markets for Nasdaq, visited Sao Paulo this week to speak with Brazilian businesses about future listings and to attend an investment gathering organised by online broker XP Inc.

The most recent Latam IPO was Semantix, a tech company that was combined with SPAC Alpha Capital and floated on Nasdaq last week. Inter & Co, a digital bank, switched from a Brazilian listing to Nasdaq in June.

“I’m reminded a lot of my 2008 excursions to China when I arrive in Sao Paulo in 2022. The tech environment is expanding, and many intriguing new companies are emerging”, Bob McCooey stated.

Latin America is starting to witness serial entrepreneurs who reinvest the profits from selling their first businesses, in addition to seasoned venture capital organisations.

In the past five years, Nasdaq has listed 159 Chinese companies and 37 Latin American companies.