AI boom puts Asia equity fundraising on track for record

September 30, 2026 (MLN): Companies across Asia-Pacific have raised $327.1 billion through equity deals so far in 2026, putting the region on course to challenge the record fundraising level reached in 2021 as investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure drives demand for capital.

The fundraising volume is 53% higher than a year earlier, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters, reflecting a sharp increase in capital-market activity across the region.

Asia-Pacific companies raised $399.7 billion through the end of September 2021, while full-year fundraising reached a record $557.6 billion.

The region would therefore need to raise another $230.6 billion during the final quarter to surpass the 2021 annual record. Achieving that would require a record quarterly fundraising volume, although investment banks expect a pipeline of large share sales and convertible bond issues to support activity through year-end.

A major driver of the fundraising cycle has been the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, particularly investment in semiconductor manufacturing, data centres and power systems.

High-technology companies raised $125.8 billion through equity deals during the year, accounting for around 38% of total Asia-Pacific fundraising and more than three times the amount raised in the same period a year earlier.

Several large transactions are also expected to come to market before the end of 2026.

Australian AI infrastructure company Firmus, Singaporean data centre operator DayOne and Chinese flash memory chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co are each potentially looking to raise around $5 billion, according to the Reuters report.

Meanwhile, Dealogic data showed that Asia-Pacific IPOs and new listings expected to price by year-end could raise around $10.4 billion.

The pipeline includes Mynt's potential $1.3bn Philippine IPO and a $2.2bn rights issue by Samsung Biologics in South Korea.

Reliance Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries, has also received approval for a Mumbai IPO that could raise around $3.8bn. In Hong Kong, Deloitte China expects another three to four mega-listings, each potentially raising at least HK$10bn ($1.3bn).

Recent transactions have demonstrated strong investor appetite for technology-related fundraising. South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix raised $26.5bn through a Nasdaq share sale, while Chinese optical-networking equipment maker Zhongji Innolight raised $7.8bn in Hong Kong.

However, the heavy supply of new equity is also leading investors to become more selective, according to bankers cited by Reuters.

James Wang, head of Asia ex-Japan equity capital markets at Goldman Sachs, said AI is expected to remain a key driver of market volumes over the next one to two years.

Kenneth Chow, Asia-Pacific head of equity capital markets origination and products at Citigroup, said there were signs of greater investor caution following the large volume of deals, while companies could still raise capital if transaction terms were more reasonable than earlier in the year.

Aaron Oh, UBS co-head of equity capital markets for Asia-Pacific, said liquidity remained available for companies capable of demonstrating earnings exposure to the AI buildout rather than relying solely on an AI-related investment narrative.

The developments indicate that the region's capital markets are increasingly being shaped by the funding requirements of the AI investment cycle, while investors are placing greater emphasis on companies' underlying earnings and ability to convert AI-related investment into business growth.

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