American bankers are making a mint helping China Inc. go global

Chinese companies are pushing across the globe to conquer new markets, and American financiers are making a mint by helping them.

- Rory Jones [e-mail]

BYD was among Chinese firms to raise billions this year via Hong Kong's markets.

(BLOOMBERG)

The unlikely U.S.-China collaboration during heightened trade and military tensions between the two superpowers is raising concern on Capitol Hill about national-security risks. But it is producing frothy markets in Hong Kong, the place where Wall Street and China Inc. meet for mutual profit.

Hong Kong's stock exchange is the hottest globally this year for new listings. Companies have raised $23 billion as of September in stock offerings, a bright note for a city otherwise in the news for a Beijing-led national-security crackdown and arrests of government critics.

In September, Morgan Stanley led the $3.2 billion Hong Kong initial public offering of Zijin’s international gold-mining unit. BlackRock’s funds acted as an early investor underpinning the deal, which raised funds for the unit to buy a gold mine in Kazakhstan.

"This is truly a spectacular year," said Robert Chan, who helps lead the execution of equity deals at Citigroup in the Asia-Pacific region.

The world’s biggest battery maker, China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology, also known as CATL, raised $5.3 billion in Hong Kong in May, the largest IPO globally this year. The auto giant BYD, the consumer-electronics company turned carmaker Xiaomi and the internet behemoth Alibaba have all raised billions of dollars this year through Hong Kong’s capital markets.

Facing fierce competition at home, Chinese companies are increasingly looking abroad for growth. Although the U.S. market is difficult because of high tariffs—and President Trump has threatened an additional 100% levy—global consumers are warming to Chinese brands and their technology. That means companies need foreign currency, such as dollars, to buy overseas assets, build factories and hire workers.