By Melanie Burton and Divya Rajagopal
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s bourse is set for a record number of secondary listings this year from mine developers enticed by the country’s pension wealth, regulation and a jurisdiction less exposed to U.S President Donald Trump’s trade wars, industry sources said.
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is growing its market share in metals and mining partly at the expense of Toronto and London rivals, just as the sector needs to expand by $100 billion a year to produce the metals needed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, industry figures show.
The strength in mining comes even as overall listings at the exchange have fallen over the last decade.
A successful listing by Canadian copper miner Capstone last year that allowed private equity to exit and Australian investors exposure to a new operating copper mine, with eventual index inclusion, ignited new interest, banking and lawyer sources said.
“Definitely much more interest in Canadian-listed companies coming to the ASX,” said Sherif Andrawes, head of global natural resources for consultancy BDO, who has worked on four recent listings.
“The ASX … is in a healthier state than the Canadian markets for exploration companies at the moment,” he said. “There are more in the pipeline.”
One of the key attractions is Australia’s large pool of pension wealth, the world’s fourth largest with assets of A$4.1 trillion ($2.58 trillion), and funds’ willingness to hold a significant proportion of their money in Australian-listed stocks.
That is attractive for even foreign domiciled miners looking to raise the billions needed to develop new projects. Australian pension funds allocate far more to domestic shares than their rivals, at around 23% according to JP Morgan estimates, compared to 4% each in Canada and the UK.
They are heading into a hungry market. Buyouts like BHP’s acquisition of copper miner Oz Minerals in 2023 have winnowed the universe of mining stocks for managers with resources mandates.
“M&A has created an opportunity for companies to fill the board,” said Todd Warren, a portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners in Sydney.
Canadian developer Marimaca Copper is expected to launch a secondary listing on the ASX this month in the second of at least four in train for this year, according to filings and source estimates, as many as in 2021, the ASX’s top year so far.
“We are at an important point in our development and are seeking to expand our pool of potential investors as we approach a financing decision to construct our flagship project in Chile, which we expect… in the first half of 2026,” Marimaca head of corporate development Nico Cookson told Reuters.
