More than $10 billion was raised in the month of March, taking the total for the 2022 financial year so far to $216.5 billion.
The $10.2 billion raised in March was 38% higher than March last year, while the $216.5 billion raised in the nine months to March is an astonishing 215% higher than at the end of March 2021.
Only eight companies made their debut on the bourse, however, compared with 14 last year.
Secondary markets strong again
For the second straight month, the vast majority of capital raised, $9.1 billion, was done so via secondary markets.
Just $1.1 billion was raised via primary markets, a 21% downturn on the year prior.
It follows an astronomical February, when nearly $99 billion was raised; this was mainly due to the unification of the BHP corporate structure, however, which added a market value of $95.9 billion, according to an ASX spokesperson.
Nearly 80% of the money raised during the 2022 financial year has been through secondary markets.
Shares are first issued on the primary market, before being traded via investors on secondary markets.
An average of $7.4 billion was traded on-market in March, up 23%, while the total cash market value was $201.4 billion, up 26%.
Only $56 million in primary capital was raised in February, down 36% on the prior February, while $1.7 billion was raised directly via secondary markets.
The year with the most secondary capital raised (both inclusive and exclusive of non-equity and non-cash issues) was 2009.
“Secondary capital raisings exclusive of non-equity and non-cash issues’ is generally a more consistent measure for comparison,” the ASX spokesperson told Proactive Investors.
“On this basis, we do not see a particular increase in 2022 versus previous corresponding periods. January and February tend to be seasonably quieter months.
“On an annual basis, 2020 and 2021 were the strongest years for secondary capital raisings since 2009, spurred on by fiscal and monetary stimulus.”
- Daniel Paproth