Asia-Pacific Share Sales Hit Record $83 Billion in July as AI Deals Surge

Share sales by artificial intelligence (AI)-related companies in the Asia-Pacific region helped drive equity capital markets activity to a record in July despite weakness in regional stock markets, Julia Floretti reported for Bloomberg News.

Investors in Asia-Pacific markets saw record equity issuance in July as AI-related companies tapped public markets for capital. [Photo: SK hynix X]

Initial public offerings (IPOs), placements and block trades raised more than $83 billion in July, the highest monthly total on record for companies in the region, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

South Korea's SK Hynix Inc. led the activity with a reported $26.5 billion U.S. listing, described as the largest listing by a foreign company on U.S. exchanges.

Mainland China recorded its second-largest IPO, with chipmaker CXMT Corp. raising 66.6 billion yuan ($9.9 billion) in its debut.

The surge in equity issuance came as the AI rally experienced a sharp setback in July, with investors questioning whether the pace of spending on data-center construction was sustainable and could justify elevated valuations.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell as much as 7% in July, although it has since recovered some of its losses.