THE COMPANY which created Angry Birds, the world's most popular computer game, is considering a stock market flotation in Hong Kong, joining the many foreign firms who have gone public there.
“In Asia there are growing markets – the people and the money,” said Peter Vesterbacka, marketing chief of Finnish company Rovio.
Finnish weekly Tekniikka Talousreported yesterday that the firm was looking at 2013 for the initial public offering but Mr Vesterbacka said no decision had been made.
Other large global firms to have gone public on the Hong Kong exchange include fashion house Prada, luggage maker Samsonite and cosmetics maker L’Occitane .
Companies benefit from access to high liquidity from Chinese pension funds and retail investors, and the bourse offers higher valuations in some sectors. Rovio might also go to New York for the IPO.
In May, Rovio chief executive Mikael Hed said the firm was aiming for a stock market listing in two or three years’ time in New York, which is seen as the key market for technology start-ups due to its dedicated investors. - (Reuters)
