By Michael O’Boyle
Reporter
Bloomberg
Companies around the world have raised $120 billion in initial stock offerings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, the busiest start to a year on record. In Latin America, new listings in Brazil could surpass last year, the market’s best in a decade. Mexico, meanwhile, has not seen an IPO that nears $1 billion since late 2017. And the road ahead looks pretty dry, local bankers say.
While Brazil and U.S. stock markets have posted record on top of record since 2017, Mexico’s benchmark index is still well off its highs from that year, and that is discouraging companies from coming to market.
Last week, a Mexican REIT raised around $330 million in the first equity offering of the year. The only other issue on the horizon is a set of toll roads in another REIT-like structure that will launch sometime this year.
One of the biggest factors hanging over Mexico’s economy and stock market has been the populist policy shift under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, which has crimped business confidence among some investors.