Asian Companies Listing on AIM

In the past few decades, the Chinese economy has experienced phenomenal growth. And while growth had since slowed, it can’t be ignored that in 2014, China became only the second country in history (after America) to achieve economic output in excess of $10 trillion. In fact, even at the current rate of growth, China expected to surpass the US as the world’s largest economy within the next two decades.

It is no wonder then that foreign investors have been looking for ways to benefit from the Chinese success story. And there are plenty of Chinese investment opportunities right here in the UK. SMEs in China have long struggled to secure capital from Chinese banks and that has sent them elsewhere, including London’s AIM market.

But more recently, the reputation of Chinese AIM listed companies has taken a serious hit. It seems that after a few scandals involving Chinese companies, the market has lost faith in all of them. The problem for most Chinese companies therefore seems to be the result of suspicion and rumour. Of course, this is unfair – the Quindell and Tesco scandals have not resulted in investors blacklisting every UK Company.

So the question is, what can Chinese companies do to increase their appeal to UK investors and continue to tap a valuable source of funding through the AIM market? The simple answer: Transparency. After all, the best way to quash suspicions and rumour is by getting the truth out. So for any Chinese companies listing in London, effectively communicating to potential investors from the beginning is critical – and there are plenty of ways to do this.

The suspicions surrounding Chinese companies listing in London are largely fuelled by a literal lack of visibility. So first and foremost, Chinese companies seeking admission to the London Stock Exchange need to bear in mind that potential investors are based abroad and therefore not able to directly observe the day to day operations of the business. Transparency, achieved in part through increased publicity, is therefore key to bolstering investor confidence.

But an effective communications program requires much more than reaching out to the UK national and investor press only briefly ahead of the IPO. Companies need to communicate through wider media outlets and for a longer period of time in the build up to Admission in order to achieve a successful and hopefully oversubscribed fundraising.

One way to do this is by launching Corporate profiling exercises on the home front. Even when targeting a predominantly overseas audience, the relevance of local and trade press coverage should not be underestimated before an IPO.

This is particularly salient for smaller companies. UK journalists are unlikely to have heard of an Asian based SME considering an AIM IPO. If British journalists can discover an existing profile through good trade and local press coverage (and where appropriate a social media profile) as they go online for further information, it will increase the likelihood of positive UK press coverage at IPO.

Local media coverage is also important for investors, as it plays a key role in reassuring their confidence. If a company attempts to promote itself amongst UK investors without an already established press profile, it could make a company’s story, no matter how compelling, harder to believe. And given the current climate of suspicion, that is risk Chinese companies simply can’t take.

Simply put, a proactive communications program is strong evidence of a company’s willingness to honour its commitment to new and existing shareholders. And, perhaps more importantly, increased transparency will help reassure investors and help regain trust of the market. This strategy will not only help Chinese companies: With London seeking to cement its status as the world’s leading financial centre there is simply no way investors here can dismiss companies operating in a country set to become the world’s economic powerhouse.

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Weekly Wrap Up: Federer, Bouchard & Business

The past week has certainly been an eventful one for sports fans. Whilst football is still undeniably dominating the sports scene, many turned their attentions to the Wimbledon finals. This year’s Wimbledon men’s single final was certainly an exciting one for tennis lovers; 17 Grand Slam Champion Roger Federer was again competing in the finals against 27-year old Serbian player Novak Djokovic. The cheering at the venue clearly indicated that many more took side to support Federer. It was as if the crowds wished to see the legendary player winning one more Grand Slam title before his retirement, as opposed to the junior Djokovic with a long career ahead of him.

However, the women’s game was quite a different story, with 21-year old Eugenie Bouchard gaining much attention. The attention was hardly surprising as Bouchard possesses all the qualities to receive the likes of the media; she is exceptionally good looking and she entered the Wimbledon finals after having played in the Grand Slam major draws for just 14 months. The media has even been speculating about the birth of another Maria Sharapova, a woman who just ten years ago defeated Serena Williams at the age of seventeen, laying down her foundation of becoming one of the most discussed sports stars in history.



It is interesting to see how the media’s speculation about the world of technology very much resembles that of the world of sports. Leaders of the largest companies in history, including Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg and the Google brothers Larry Page and Sergey Brin, are still some of the most celebrated personalities in media history. To a certain extent, the popularity of their brands is very often built upon the company and the individual's success, with many die-hard fans caring more about the success of the company in question than with the actual products being sold.

On the other hand, startups are increasingly dominating the media. The success stories of companies who have blossomed out of nowhere are nowadays just as likely, if not more, to receive media attention than the more established companies with steady incomes and long-term customers. In the UK, titles such as “Silicon Roundabout” and “Tech City” have become everyday words for the business press.

This week, for example, Google’s venture funding arm announced that it is setting up a $100m investment fund in London to invest in tech companies in Europe. Despite being incredibly high risk, venture funds have become increasingly active, and this announcement demonstrates the confidence that Google has in the startups of the world. Google was suitable rewarded for its startup focus; the media praise of Google’s risk-taking and “supporting the underdog” was bountiful.

Looking back at the examples of Federer and Bouchard, it is very clear that the press’s favour cannot be predicted or pigeon-holed. Whilst journalists are intrigued and keen to report on the entrepreneurs, innovators and startups of the new world, there is still a great appreciation for the more traditional beasts that time has proven are successful and worthy of praise.



Having made a series of appointments in recent months, Cantor Fitzgerald Europe further boosted its team with the appointment of Eric Bourguignon as Director of Consumer and Retail for its corporate finance division. Meanwhile, Neil Cullum, Head of Banking at the Accountancy and Investment management group at Smith & Williamson is due to retire at the end of this month. He will be replaced by Peter Mitchell, former Chief Executive Officer at CAF Bank. Walker Crips Investment and Wealth management Group also recruited two Barclays Wealth veterans in the form of Steven Moss and Mark Entwistle; both will be stockbrokers.



“A business beast” – A well-established and substantial corporation, possible a business that is steeped in history and tradition.



Missing the adrenaline rush of the annual school sports day’s ‘egg and spoon’ race? Not to fear. Head to Bedford Square for The Chap Olympiad where dapper attire is a must and you can take part in events such as breadbasket ball, passing the port, umbrella jousting, bakewell battles and that old favourite; The Tug Of Hair Competition.

If you are in need of some pre-game sustenance, then we suggest spending your Sunday lunch time at The Truscott Arms in Maida Vale. This Victorian pub not only does a mean Yorkshire Pudding, but they offer a whole Gluten Free roast!

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Weekly Wrap Up: The Uber Battle of Trafalgar

For a City famed for constantly being on the go, London was forcefully made to “go slow” this week as nearly 5,000 London cab drivers drew their vehicles to a halt in Trafalgar Square.

The protesters were speaking out against new smart phone app Uber, which allows Londoners to flag the nearest cab available using Geo-tagging, as well as estimate how much their fare will cost.

Whilst the former aspect of the app may be good for cabbies – the method reduces their dependency on commission charging taxi operators. The protesters were complaining that the fare estimation tool forces them to sell their services for less. Their basis for complaint was that, by law, fare calculating devices known as “taximeters” are only allowed to be calculated by black cabs, and that the Uber app could constitute a taximeter by pre-calculating a cab fare.

Unfortunately, the protest didn't have the desired effect of tarring the app’s reputation; Thursday’s papers were filled with stories of how the operators of Uber app had seen an 850% jump in registrations on the day of the protest due to the number of Londoners who discovered the app through the protest. Indeed one Tory minister, Matt Hancock, tweeted that he had never heard about the #Uber app, but that he thought it was “awesome”. The EU digital affairs commissioner Neelie Kros became the app’s champion by lauding the its innovation and the industry of disruptive technology.

This 850% spike was a rather predictable result. Within reason, all PR is good PR, and Uber simply couldn’t have paid for the paper (and even broadcast) space that the protest’s coverage gave them. One might even go so far as to suggest that this whole protest was orchestrated by Uber with the intention of raising their profile internationally and nationally.

Let us go one step further. Beyond the increase in registrations, what long-term impact could the cabbies’ strike have on the world of disruptive apps such as Uber?

Whilst the British population was busy marvelling at the effect of the protest and downloading the offending app, America (homeland of San Francisco based Uber) was allowing the spiders of cynicism to creep onto the internet waves. At 3pm on Thursday afternoon Ellen Huet of Forbes magazine reported that The California Public Utilities Commission has warned apps like Uber in a stern letter that they are no longer allowed to take riders to or from any Californian airport.

This story serves as a reminder that the eye of regulation is upon disruptive technologies such as these, and as such they could face barriers to their development in the future.

The protest may have been beneficial to Uber in the short-term, but the publicity that the protest achieved has now raised the question as to how far apps and disruptive technologies should be able to interfere with other services, and whether regulation should be stepping in to control this interference.

As we have seen from the markets in recent months, the growth of digital technologies such as Twitter and Uber is incredibly dependent on ever increasing user-ship; Twitter’s share price has been falling amid fears of slowing user growth. If regulation does prove to threaten the future take-up of apps such as Uber, it could be hugely damaging for the future reputation of these apps by “potentially thinning profits and making it hard for Uber to justify its valuation” (CBSnews.com).

This week’s protest raised an issue that went beyond the confines of London’s famous black cabs. Although this year’s 'Battle of Trafalgar' may have been won by the defender, in time it may prove to simply be the start of a greater war against technology.



Abchaps have been out and about on an international scale this week, attending the LSE Greater China Forum in Hong Kong, taking the opportunity to catch up with our clients and advisers who operate out there. Abchaps also caught up with London’s top advisers at the LSE Summer Adviser Drinks, wonderfully hosted across the road on Threadneedle Street. Ever with the media in mind, we got the low down from Richard Fletcher, Business Editor at The Times, at the CIPR lunch briefing this week too.

As always, two of the famous Abchurch Market Lunches saw an interesting array of guests sit down to discuss market trends and opportunities; thank you to our guests for your insightful contributions!



This week Michael Hafner has been appointed head of oil and gas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at UBS. He joins from Deutsche Bank. David Bettesworth, previously of Deloitte, was appointed head of insurance and investment management advisory at PwC in London. Also, Vicki Harris has joined Aldermore from Octopus Investments as group strategy and marketing director.



“Black PR” – The process of destroying the target’s reputation and / or corporate identity.



Make the most of the sun this weekend. The More London Free Festival is in its 12th year and intends to celebrate! There is a 4-day street party which will see 5 different cultures show us the best of their food and fun on the South Bank- give it a try!

If you are a footie fan then you can catch the games at most London pubs, but we’ve heard about a few hidden gems. If you are central, head to Anthologist and if you want to enjoy the sun whilst keeping up to date with the Brazilian antics, then head to The Round House near Charring Cross Tube. Come on England!

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Weekly Wrap Up: Obamacare "hangs" with the Millenials

President Obama, in what some have considered his riskiest interview to date, appeared on Between Two Ferns; a spoof chatshow hosted by Zach Galifianakis, star of "The Hangover". The show was broadcast online by the comedy website Funny Or Die on Tuesday.

Some may deem this move to have been a risky one by the affable President, but it is arguable that where there is risk there is also gain when appearing on a show that draws in 30 million viewers. Obama has been trying to promote the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare, and what better way to reach out to young and politically indifferent Generation Y who are more inclined to support it than through their favourite medium: social media?

Barack Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the White House - Pete Souza

With access to such a large and influential audience, appearing on the show for six minutes and gaining the opportunity to urge young people to sign up for health insurance at the website healthcare.gov was a remarkable success for Obama. Furthermore it generated significant social media attention as it went up online.

The message the business community can take from this week’s appearance is that too often business leaders are too reticent to engage with social media, deeming the risks too high. The opposite is true, and the more bold a company is and the more outspoken a Company’s CEO is, the more likely it is to make an impact and get its message heard.



On Thursday one Abchap was invited to have tea with the FT to talk about Abchaps’ favourite topic: video and multi-media! Abchurch was delighted to be invited to this round-table discussion to share our insights on how to make content more engaging and accessible. We can’t stress more about the effectiveness of using videos in communicating the true essence of a business to the wider audience.

Abchurch also never tires of hosting our well-received market lunches. On Tuesday, advisers from SP Angel, MXC Capital, WH Ireland, Fasken Martineau, Deloitte, Grant Thornton and Investec came and shared their insights on the current happenings in the increasingly heated market.

One of these lunches had a particular theme, with advisers from Liberum Capital, Pinsent Masons, CICC (UK), and Allenby Capital attending to discuss business in relation to China. The Abchaps enjoyed sharing their views on how the perception of Chinese companies continues to evolve among investors, in part thanks to improved communications!



This week, WH Ireland made a top-level appointment as Dan Cowland was appointed Finance Director and member of the Board. Dan joins WH Ireland from Shore Capital, having gained a wealth of experience at Macquarie Bank and Lehman Brothers in the past. Cantor Fitzgerald also gained two new advisers in the forms of Tobias Woerner and Howard Prince-Wright; they had previously held roles at Antenna Group and Saxobank (respectively).

Earlier in the week, Field Fisher Waterhouse announced that Philip Abbott has become a partner of the firm’s Finance division. Philip is a specialist in funds finance, real estate finance and restructurings sectors and has formerly worked for Simmons & Simmons.


"Millennials": Also known as Generation Y, Millenials are the demographic group following Generation X. Commentators use birth years ranging from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.



Whilst the ExCel Centre in Islington may be full of City speak during the week, at the weekend it becomes the site and haunt of London’s magical and mythical caricatures. Head up to the ExCel Centre this Saturday for the London Super Comic Convention, to include panel discussions, autograph session and publisher reviews.

This Sunday will be St Patrick’s Day; Abchurch forecasts showers of green and a rather jollier than usual vibe. Head on down to Piccadilly for the Parade and Festival, formed around the theme of “World of Dance”. Look forward to a headlining act by Riverdance and a performance from the cast of West End musical “The Commitments”.

If you would prefer to avoid the crowds of the City, why not head out to the Country with the Country To Country Festival. This two-day indoor festival brings the music of Nashville to Greenwich in London’s O2 arena with appearances from Zac Brown Band and Brad Paisley.

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Weekly Wrap Up: Channel 4's media affair

This week, Channel 4 announced that it was ending its 5-year media affair with Youtube.

In a 2009 deal that saw all Channel 4 programmes (Skins, Peep Show etc) made freely available for on-demand viewing, both the broadcaster and broadcast sharer planned to benefit from a split of advertising revenues.

Now, however, the shiny-media-polish appears to have worn thin on this partnership; full length features and programmes have now been removed, though clips and trailers will still be shared. Broadcasters such as Channel 4 and BBC previously relied on platforms like Youtube for global distribution, but they have now developed their own on-demand technology to host their programmes.

The response from online trolls was predictably strong. In an age, and (in fact) a week (#Sainsburys), where media is becoming both increasingly difficult to source in hard copy and expected in freely, the news was met with acrimony.  In a Reddit post, given 467 up-votes, a complaint about having to stream Channel 4 through what the user described as a less than perfect website (in not so many words). This article incited 78 comments, most of which related anger at the media migration.

But is this announcement really a bad thing in the world of media and social media? Where does this leave Google-owned video-breathing beast of Youtube?

Youtube, the largest video sharing website and the second largest search engine,  was created to “share your videos with friends, family, and the world”. Whilst the quality of content varies, it's safe to say the vast majority is not of the polished Channel 4 product quality.  Now that full-feature and professionally made programmes have been stripped, will the platform return to its old roots of sharing social rather than professional content?

Youtube is an invaluable tool for the public to share material, and for businesses to portray engaging messages. It's arguably a far more important tool for these groups than for corporate broadcasters who now have their own means of digital distribution.

This purification of Youtube may take Youtube back to its core, improving its value as a social media sharing site. Without the distraction of the glossy programmes and feature films, those high quality videos shared by the public/ businesses will have more of a chance to make an impact. Citizen journalism will reach more eyes, and SME messages in corporate videos may be heard by more ears.



Abchaps have been getting back into their stride this week, enjoying the distinct buzz of anticipation around the City! A particular highlight was the Tech Start Up themed Market Lunch that Abchurch co-hosted with Alistair Crane, Executive Vice President of Monitise Create and original Founder of Grapple Mobile. Whilst Abchaps won't give too much away, it was undoubtedly a fabulous way to kick off 2014. We were fortunate enough to sit down with 10 of the City's most influential tech advisers, as well as the CEOs of start-ups that can only be described as "ones to watch" for 2014!



Cancacord Genuity strengthens its research team with three new appointments. Making the jump across from Oriel Securities is Charlotte Keyworth and Harry Philips who join the aerospace and defence desk and capital goods desk respectively. Arun George, previously of Edison Investment Research, also joins the technology team.

Our friends at Stephenson Harwood made a new partner appointment with the hiring of Suzanne Tarplee who joins the rail team. And Zeus Capital bolsters its healthcare team with a new analyst: Gary Waanders. Gary joins from Nomura and brings his wealth of expertise to the team; particularly in biotech and pharma.



"Vlog" - A video blog, or blog that contains video entries



Still suffering the financial effects of Christmas? Here are a couple of the best free events hitting London this weekend:

The London Ice Sculpting Festival takes over this weekend, so head East to Canary Wharf to witness the world’s leading ice sculpting teams chisel big boring blocks into spectacular creations as they carve everything from fashion pieces to miniature cities!

With the opening ceremony tonight, the annual London Short Film Festival takes over the City’s best indy cinemas and venues to showcase over 300 short films and documentaries. The LSFF will throw in the excellent added extras of live music gigs and parties too. With such an extensive series and tickets ranging from free to £10, check out the site to see what tickles your tastebuds.

Finally, for those not feeling the squeeze, soak up contemporary, cutting-edge and thought-provoking artistic culture and attend one of the mesmerising productions being performed at the London International Mime Festival.

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LSE Chief advocates for SMEs

“There are 21.7 million people unemployed in Europe, and 23 million SMEs. If each SME were able to take on one more person…?This is why governments across Europe must look at all they can do to assist SME growth; these businesses are the essence of our future prosperity,” said Xavier Rolet, CEO of the London Stock Exchange last night at the AIM annual awards ceremony.

This year, the old Billingsgate Fish Market (built in 1874) hosted the event, which has arguably the best views of Tower Bridge in the city. Over 1,300 guests attended the dinner, comprising  AIM quoted companies, NOMADS, brokers, accountants, lawyers and public and investor relations firms, making it the largest AIM gathering in the City. Sponsors of the event ranged from Argus to Zeus. And the overall winner of evening, taking the Company of the Year Award was May Gurney.

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