RIght now, who can blame sellers for holding back? The alternative is the challenge of trying to find willing buyers in a stock market down 20% this year as surging inflation, aggressive central bank interest-rate hikes and the risk of a global recession erode sentiment.
The market for share sales hasn’t been this bad in nearly two decades, with few willing to take a chance in a grim investment climate.
Just US$198 billion worth of initial public offerings and follow-on sales have been priced so far this year, a 70% drop from a year ago. That puts them on track for the lowest first-half haul since 2005, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
