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Looking back on 2022, to say it was a disappointing year for the IPO market would be quite an understatement. Globally, the number of IPOs dropped by 45%, and the money raised dropped by 61%. Due to a number of factors (namely inflation, interest rates, and geopolitical turmoil), market conditions suffered a remarkable slump.

But that’s not to say it was a catastrophic year- not for the bigger IPOs, anyway. In today’s blog, we’ll be looking at some of the top IPOs of 2022, before discussing just what went wrong in the market last year. 

The top 5 IPOs in 2022

Looking at the global market, the top IPO of 2022 was LG Energy Solution, by quite a large margin. Their shares started trading at $249 on the Korea Stock Exchange (KRX), back in January of 2022. They raised $10.76 billion, giving them a valuation of $55b. 

Next up was one of China’s three big telecoms companies, China Mobile. They listed in January 2022 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange at around $9.06 (or 57.58 yuan). This followed their 2021 delisting from NYSE. China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd and China Telecom Corp. were also delisted following an investment ban that was introduced by former President Donald Trump. Nonetheless, in 2022 they raised the equivalent of $8.8 billion. 

The third most successful IPO in 2022 was Porsche AG. In September of last year they were listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at €82.5. The company raised €9.2b, resulting in a valuation of €75.2b.

Next up, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), which is a public service infrastructure company. Listed in April of 2022 on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), it’s one of the most successful Dubai IPOs in recent history. With shares at around $0.68 (or 2.48 dirhams), the company managed to raise $6.1b. This resulted in a market value of $33.8b. 

Finally, the fifth most successful IPO of 2022: CNOOC. An offshore oil & gas company in China, CNOOC completed their listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange back in April. They ended up raising 28.08b yuan (the equivalent of $4.41b), with shares worth 10.8 yuan. 

IPO market in 2022: What happened? 

So, the IPO market was quite the letdown in 2022, especially when compared to the record-breaking 2021. But what caused such a dramatic shift? 

There were several contributing factors. Inflation, for one, skyrocketed around the world, which led to central banks raising interest rates. There was also a stark increase in volatility, which in itself was spurred by numerous factors. The war in Ukraine, and rising energy prices largely caused by Russia’s invasion, were just a couple of the reasons the IPO market stumbled.

Despite the market’s success in 2021, a lot of the companies that went public haven’t really seen much success. In fact, by the close of 2022, 80% of 2021 IPO stocks were trading below offer prices. 

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