SpaceX’s mega-IPO just drew a hard line through Asia’s two biggest pools of Chinese capital. Underwriters for the company’s upcoming public offering have instructed syndicate banks to refuse orders from investors located in Hong Kong and mainland China, a compliance measure tied directly to US export restrictions on defense-related technologies.
The directive, issued on June 5, applies to both institutional and private banking clients in the affected regions. It does not appear to impact other Asian markets.
A $75 billion offering meets Cold War-era export law
SpaceX builds rockets and satellites that fall squarely under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR, meaning the US government classifies its technology alongside missiles and military hardware.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriters managing the IPO’s marketing phase since early June, cited legal and regulatory compliance as the basis for the exclusion. The decision wasn’t a soft suggestion. It was a directive to every bank in the syndicate.
