American markets may be down, but they are holding their own on the global IPO scene. Even in the midst of a financial crisis triggered by their own excess, U.S. companies accounted for 40 percent of the $76.46 billion IPO market through August 15, according to Dealogic. That’s up from 21 percent of the $171.65 billion for the comparable period of 2007 and near the recent peak of 44 percent in 2001, achieved just after the tech boom ended. The U.S. market got a big boost from the record Visa IPO in March. Western Europe’s share of IPOs fell to 7 percent from 17 percent, and the U.K.’s dropped to 2 percent from 8 percent. Who else benefited? China, of course. Its share rose to 20 percent from 18 percent. The $5.7 billion IPO of China Railway Construction in March was the second-largest deal of the year. IPO volume is down 55 percent this year on a global basis, but some markets are weathering the storm better than others.
