... as Asian boom fuels IPO record

The amount raised in stock market flotations around the world this year is expected to break the 2007 record of $300bn, according to research from Ernst & Young.

The amount raised in stock market flotations around the world this year is expected to break the 2007 record of $300bn, according to research from Ernst & Young.

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Asian companies are behind a surge in the number of floats.

The biggest initial public offer (IPO) so far in 2010 was in Hong Kong and Shanghai, where Agricultural Bank of China raised $22.1bn, the biggest float in history. The next was by AIA, an offshoot of American insurer AIG, which collected over $20bn in its Hong Kong IPO.

In the first 11 months of this year, 1,199 companies raised $255 bn with Chinese firms accounting for more than 45%.