洲IPO（首次公开募股）活动重新活跃起来。但考虑到它们从一小群富裕支持者那里获得的帮助，投资者应当三思而后行。
中 国农业银行在上海和香港发行股票，启动了IPO市场的这轮回归。到目前为止，农行已筹资207.9亿美元。现在，投资银行又在重新启动因希腊债务危机和其 他担忧而被尘封的上市计划，比如香港太古地产有限公司(Swire Properties)5月份取消、拟筹资30亿美元的IPO。
知情 人士说，仅过去一周传出准备在未来几个月进行的IPO就包括：中信资源控股有限公司(Citic Resources Holdings Ltd.)子公司的4亿美元IPO；内地船务公司海丰国际控股(SITC International)的5亿美元IPO，国营企业印度煤炭(Coal India Ltd.)最高28亿美元的IPO。除此以外，还有友邦保险(AIA Group)提了很多次、最高200亿美元的IPO，以及新加坡政府投资公司(Government of Singapore Investment Corp.)旗下房地产公司预计年内进行的20多亿美元的IPO。
为了上市，公司和投行都在考虑“基石投资者”(cornerstone investor)。基石投资获得数量预先确定的股票，有一段禁售期，将按IPO价格购买。它们同样也在寻找“锚定投资者”(anchor investor)。这一类投资者没有禁售期，但他们是在询价第一天、而不是在IPO启动前夕参与其中，而且他们是IPO中第一个吃螃蟹的人。
摩 根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)驻香港全球资本市场部副总裁布罗斯南(Damien Brosnan)说，在当前动荡的股市环境中，部分投资者作为基石投资者参与IPO可以给公司带来多种好处，比如突出管理层的可信度，肯定公司的定位，以 及在较大的IPO中形成一种稀缺感和紧锣密鼓的气氛。他说，有战略合作伙伴或一家关键客户作为基石投资者参与IPO，对于中市值公司可能尤其有利。
在 资产规模位居中国第四的农行开始向机构投资者和散户售股之前，它就已经向11家基石投资者出售了54亿美元的股票，这在香港市场105亿美元的发行额当中 就占了一半以上，引起轰动。在这么多股票都已经被中东主权财富基金、渣打银行(Standard Chartered PLC)等投资者放入囊中的情况下，尽管后来公开交易首日表现并不怎么样，但IPO还是得以顺利完成。
主攻中国的对冲基金太平阳投资管理 （香港）有限公司(Pacific Sun Investment Management)的基金经理曼特尔(Andy Mantel)说，基石投资者可能会挤出较小的投资者，但对于农行等公司的上市来说，大量优质而又多样化的投资者尤其有助于股票的成功上市。
中 国光大银行(China Everbright Bank Co.)29亿美元的IPO在周一开始举行预路演，按计划将于8月18日在上海上市。它已将49%的股票留给了基石投资者。澳大利亚煤矿企业Aston Resources Ltd.规模达15亿澳元（合13.5亿美元）的IPO当中，来宝集团(Noble Group)和伊藤忠商社(Itochu)提供了关键支持。
一些公司也在为股票的配售和其他非IPO发行寻找这种支持。印度Adani Enterprises Ltd.上个月融资8.5亿美元，据知情人士说，锚定投资者订购了其中的接近25%，帮助这次融资获得了成功。
花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)亚太区银团承销部门的Jackie Chien说，由于市场已经稳定，公司都在重新趁此机会从市场融资；基石投资者肯定是当今IPO的一个趋势，因为人人都希望在IPO当中吃下这种定心丸。
但 较小的投资者应该记住，大型基石投资者的存在显示的往往是背后市况的疲态而不一定是牛劲。数据提供商Dealogic提供的地区最大IPO名单显示，10 家公司当中，目前只有四家的股价高于IPO价格，它们分别是农行、3月份融资16亿美元的大韩生命保险公司(Korea Life Insurance Co. Ltd.)、融资44亿美元的三星生命保险公司(Samsung Life Insurance Co.)，以及今年在香港融资7.87亿美元的法国化妆品连锁企业欧舒丹(L'Occitane International)。
基石投资者有时候还有另外的动机。它们可以赢得企业和政府的好感，从而为将来创造其他机会。
另外，基石投资者自己也在承担相当大的风险。全球金融危机前夕的黄金岁月里，由于富裕个人投资者和主权财富基金都希望在令人机动的IPO中抢得一杯羹，基石投资者并不少见。但市场在2008年崩溃后，很多人的资金被套牢，IPO的潜在支持者数量也变少了。
在很多情况下，投资者应当问问自己是不是愿意承担同样的风险。如果投资失败，基石投资者可能会蒙受损失，但在很多情况下他们都是长线投资，并且为了抄底，他们心甘情愿地承受这种损失。
实力不比基石投资者的投资者在判断将来股价时，应当考虑到其他一些因素，比如具体企业的具体情况如何，又比如整个市场的趋势如何。近期出现的一个趋势就是，最近IPO做得比较成功的企业要么是消费品企业，可从亚洲富人阶层日益增加中获益，要么一直就是市场的领头羊。
Asian IPOs are back. But the help they're getting from a small group of wealthy backers should give investors pause.
Agricultural Bank of China (601288.SH, 1288.HK) kicked off the return of the initial public offering market with its own share issuance in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which has so far raised $20.79 billion. Now investment bankers are dusting off IPO pipelines that clogged after the Greek debt crisis and other worries stopped deals like the $3 billion IPO of Hong Kong's Swire Properties, which was called off in May.
In the past week alone, people familiar with the matter say deals now on track for the next few months include the $400 million IPO of Citic Resources Holdings Ltd.'s (1205.HK, CTJHY) unit; China shipping firm SITC International, which is raising around $500 million; and the up-to-$2.8 billion IPO by State-run Coal India Ltd. That's on top of the off-again, on-again up to $20 billion IPO of AIA Group as well as the $2 billion-plus IPO of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp.'s real-estate arm expected before the end of the year.
To get them done, companies and bankers are turning to what are known as cornerstone investors. Cornerstone investors get a pre-determined amount of shares and are subject to a lockup period and will pay the IPO price. They are also finding anchor investors, which don't have a lock-up but join the party on the first day of bookbuilding, rather than before the deal is launched, and they get first dibs on the offer.
'In the current volatile equity market backdrop, participation of certain investors in a company's IPO as a cornerstone investor can provide several benefits, such as emphasizing management credibility, validating company positioning, and in larger offerings creating a sense of scarcity value and momentum for the deal,' said Damien Brosnan, a vice president in Global Capital Markets in Hong Kong for Morgan Stanley. 'For many mid-caps, the participation of a strategic partner or a key customer as a cornerstone investor in the IPO can be particularly beneficial.'
AgBank, China's No. 4 lender by assets, caused waves after the bank sold more than half, or about US$5.4 billion, of its US$10.5 billion Hong Kong shares to 11 cornerstone investors even before the deal kicked off to institutions and retail investors. With so much tied up by investors such as the Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and Standard Chartered PLC (SCZ.ZM), the deal still got done even though it later chalked up a paltry opening performance.
Cornerstone investors may crowd out smaller buyers, 'but for deals like AgBank, the large number of quality, diverse investors was extremely helpful in getting the stock listed,' said Andy Mantel, fund manager at China-focused hedge fund Pacific Sun Investment Management.
China Everbright Bank Co., which began premarketing its $2.9 billion IPO Monday and is set to trade in Shanghai on Aug. 18, has earmarked 49% of its offering to cornerstone investors. Noble Group and Itochu provided key support for an A$1.5 billion ($1.35 billion) IPO by Australian coal miner Aston Resources Ltd.
Some companies are seeking such backing for placements and other non-IPO offerings. India's Adani Enterprises Ltd. (512599.BY) raised $850 million last month, in a deal that people familiar with the situation said managed to get an anchor order of almost 25% of the issue that helped secure its success.
'As markets have stabilized, corporates are coming back to take this opportunity to tap the market for funding,' said Jackie Chien of Citigroup Inc.'s (C) Asia Pacific equity syndicate desk. 'Cornerstones are definitely a trend for IPOs nowadays as everyone wants that kind of comfort [in a deal].'
Still, smaller investors should keep in mind that the presence of major cornerstone investors shows underlying market weakness, not necessarily bullishness. A list of the region's top IPOs from Dealogic shows that only four out of 10 are trading above their IPO price: AgBank; Korea Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (088350.SE), which in March raised $1.6 billion; Samsung Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (032830.SE), which raised $4.4 billion; and French cosmetics chain L'Occitane International (0973.HK), which raised $787 million in Hong Kong this year.
They also sometimes have different motives. Cornerstone investors can win good will from companies and governments, leading to other opportunities down the road.
Furthermore, cornerstone investors themselves are taking a considerable risk. Cornerstone investors were common in the go-go days before the global financial crisis, as wealthy individuals and sovereign wealth funds looked to get an early piece of exciting IPOs. But many found their money trapped after the market tanked in 2008, and the number of potential bankrollers has narrowed.
In many cases, investors should ask whether they're willing to take the same risk. Cornerstone investors may find themselves hit if the investments go bad, but in many cases they have long time horizons and are willing to take that hit in order to get in at the market bottom.
Beyond cornerstones, smaller investors should consider other factors in judging how the offer might fare, from individual corporate details to broader market trends. Among recent trends, the issues that have done well recently have been consumer-driven--taking advantage of Asia's increasingly affluent population--or have been market leaders.