Daily Dispatches: HKEx is IPO champ

After a hiatus of several years, Hong Kong's stock exchange is again the world champion of IPOs. It probably shouldn't get too comfortable with the title. As of Monday, US$26.81bn has been raised through initial public offerings in Hong Kong this year, according to Dealogic. That is well above the US$17.11bn raised on the New York Stock Exchange, which stood at No. 2 in the global rankings. (Wall Street Journal)

ICICI, one of India's biggest banks, has applied for a coveted licence that will allow it reach out to non-Indian customers and establish itself across Singapore with a wider range of services. The move will put ICICI bank in direct competition with its great rival, the State Bank of India (SBI), which has expanded aggressively here after being granted the licence last year. (Straits Times)

Singapore Exchange (SGX) is making a special cash payment of S$1.5m to its former chief executive Hsieh Fu Hua in recognition of his 'outstanding contributions'. But it is a separate conditional award of 436,485 SGX shares, worth a hefty S$3.5m based on the current share price, that is likely to raise questions. (Asia One)

CBA today said it had beefed up its institutional equities team, appointing 16 senior research and sales staff in Melbourne and Sydney. (The Australian)