Oil giant, Chinese Apple and rival Uber. The most anticipated IPO in 2018

The past year was marked by rapid growth in stock exchanges: American stock indexes, oil prices, and bitcoin were actively moving up. The index of fear of investors VIX was at historical lows, and the indicator S & P 500 beat historical records one after another.

At the end of the year, the US adopted a tax reform that promised a reduction in corporate taxes from 35% to 21%. Today, this is Trump's biggest victory, the cornerstone of his program for the development of the American economy. In addition, the oil-producing countries agreed to extend the agreement in the format of OPEC + on the limitation of production, which allows prices for black gold to gain a foothold above $ 60 per barrel. All this gives grounds to look with optimism in 2018 and opens a window of opportunities for many companies whose growth was several times higher than the positive dynamics of the market due to the aggressive development strategy.

Kings on the stock exchange

Thus, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman intends to use the favorable situation on the oil market and bring the world's largest oil and gas company Aramco to the IPO  . Even the placement of a 5% stake in this giant may become the largest IPO in history and raise up to $ 100 billion. Today, the record belongs to the Chinese Internet retailer Alibaba, which in 2014 held an IPO of $ 25 billion.According to rumors, Aramco, which is estimated at $ 2 trillion, will be able to select the status of the most expensive public company from Apple already at the end of 2018. While it remains an open question, on which site to conduct the placement. The Saudis are considering options for entering the stock exchanges of New York, London and other financial capitals of the world. President Trump, in a personal conversation with the King of Saudi Arabia, promoted the idea of ​​placing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). However, holding an IPO on a foreign site will require more openness, which is a rather difficult condition for one of the world's last absolute monarchies.

It will be necessary to conduct the first independent audit of reserves and disclose royal family income. The time for decision-making by the rulers of the largest oil economy is less and less, they need to act to make maximum use of, perhaps, the last cycle of oil growth before the era of transition to alternative resources. If Saudi Arabia does not miss its chance, it will be able to carry out a large-scale economic reform.

Chinese Expansion

Another company, for which the year 2018 can be a turning point, is Xiaomi , a smartphone manufacturer from China. The company with an estimated capitalization of $ 50 to $ 100 billion is already ahead of Apple in sales of phones in the Middle Kingdom, moving it from fourth place. The Chinese player can use his colossal sales growth, which was 56.6% per year, as a good argument for entering the public market. The high cost of the new iPhone X contributes to the increased demand for affordable Xiaomi smartphones, especially in emerging markets such as India, where Xiaomi sales are growing particularly fast. Over the year, the company was able to double its share in the world market, to a record 7.5%.

Not limited to the production and sale of smartphones, Xiaomi can actively develop in the rapidly growing segment of the Internet of things, bringing to the market "smart" air cleaners, teapots, rice cookers and other home appliances.

Race for accommodation

Lyft , the company representing the mobile application for ordering road transport, is another example of an actively competitive player that can enter the open market in 2018 before others. While her main rival Uber is reaping the bitter fruits of the scandals, Lyft can use a fortunate moment and be first placed on the stock exchange.

In addition, the new head of Uber, Dara Khosrovshahi, announced in August that the IPO of the company is planned in the next 18-36 months. Thus, in 2018 Uber will not participate in the struggle to attract investors' funds to the ridesharing industry.

Meanwhile, the $ 1.5 billion received from the investment fund Capital G, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., during the last round. allow Lyft to be valued at $ 11 billion. While many investors are skeptical about the ridesharing segment due to lack of profitability, the company has big plans for introducing self-managed cars, which will cut costs. According to some reports, she has already hired consultants to prepare for the IPO. Thus, the probability of access to the exchange of the first representative of the sharing-economy in 2018 is quite high, and will finally allow realizing the potential of this industry.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the placement of listed companies promises to be extremely profitable for investors, since interest in them is already much higher than it was for the largest IPO in 2017, Snap. So this year may turn out to be one of the most positive in 10 years from the point of view of the initial public offering.

Forbes.ru