WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 20: This year, as many as 100 Asian Internet companies will be eying IPOs.If that makes you shudder in anticipation, you'll find this even more exciting: Unlike in the U.S., where retail investors generally stand no chance of getting in on high-profile initial public offerings, small investors here will have a shot at buying these freshly minted shares.With 40 to 100 Asian Internet companies expected to go public in 2000, chances are good that some of them will have steep early runups. The trick for the individual investor: Figure out which companies look good, find out when they're launching their IPOs, and sign up.Each step, however, brings its own complications. You'll have to do your own research, because unless you trade hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stock every year it's unlikely your broker will tell you about upcoming issues. And you'll have to act quickly, because the window for getting in on an IPO is generally short, sometimes as little as four days.As for signing up, there's no guarantee you'll get a piece of the newly listed company. But at least you have a chance: Markets such as Hong Kong require that substantial chunks of new companies go to retail investors, and in other markets, there's a strong tradition of parceling out shares to the little guys. Investment banks don't disclose the exact figures, but analysts estimate that as much as 70% of an IPO can go to retail investors in some Asian markets. That's far better than the odds for punters on the other side of the pond: In the U.S., less than 20% of an IPO generally goes to individuals - and most of them are favored clients.Internet IPO mania is just budding here as exchanges make listing easier for Internet companies with little history of profits or revenues. New markets have been created (such as Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market and Tokyo's Market of the High-Growth and Emerging Stocks, or Mothers' exchange), their founders hoping to build a home for rising technology stars, much like the U.S. Nasdaq exchange. While Nasdaq will host many early Asian Internet listings, more Asian companies will be listing locally - or on both U.S. and local exchanges - later this year, analysts say. Much of that action will be on exchanges in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.IPOs, it should go without saying, are risky investments; small investors are advised not to wager more than 10% of their long-term portfolio on young, small companies like these. And it bears remembering as so many companies are poised to list, it's partially the scarcity of Asian Internet shares that has lent appeal to early issues.Shares of Singapore's MediaRing.com Ltd., an Internet phone provider, shot up more than 180% on its first day of trading and is now at more than 230% above its IPO price. Liquid Audio Japan Inc., which lets users download music from the Internet, shot up the maximum permissible 100% on its first day of trading and now also goes for 230% above its IPO price."There are few companies that are ready to go public so those companies are attracting an inordinate amount of capital," says Anthony Blass, chairman of Hong Kong based I-Quest Corp., which helps hotels set up high-speed Internet networks and manages a business travel site (worldroom.com). I-Quest, like most Asian Internet companies, is scrambling to list its shares as soon as possible. "The early IPOs should do extremely well." (WSJ)
