A security guard keeps watch outside the entrance to the Shanghai Stock Exchange
Wuhan is full of surprises this year. It has already given the world coronavirus, which has killed more than 2,600 people.
However, on Monday, the Chinese megacity delivered another vicarious surprise, one designed to instil in investors not deep dread but slight delight.
The day started as they do right now, with most of Shanghai’s 24 million people cowering at home in self-imposed quarantine, but at 9.30am, there was a flurry of activity at the Shanghai Securities Exchange Building in Pudong, a brisk walk from the Huangpu river.
Bestore, a leading Chinese maker of packaged snacks, was making its debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE). No great shock there – primary activity on the main board has held up remarkably well.
According to Dealogic, in the year to Tuesday, seven IPOs were completed, worth $5.41 billion, against 10 listings worth $1.27 billion in the same period a year ago.
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Two factors did catch the eye.
