Skip to main content

Will 2017 finally be the breakout year for Canadian tech initial public offerings?

After the successful public debuts of Kinaxis Inc. in 2014 and Shopify Inc. last year, 2016 is set to pass into the history books without a single tech IPO here.

"We've gone from a bit of a dry spell to an enduring drought," said Alex Graham, head for communications, media and technology investment banking with RBC Dominion Securities Inc.

But several Canadian tech firms should be "IPO-ready" next year – though not all are expected to go public in 2017. Story

Ottawa builds a bridge for infrastructure investment

At first glance, Bay Street and the federal Liberals seem miles apart when it comes to infrastructure.

The finance crowd sees investors lining up to put private money into public projects. BMO Nesbitt Burns, a market leader in the infrastructure bond market, confidently predicts the coming year will see private investors commit a record $8.7-billion of debt financing to Canadian projects, up from approximately $7-billion in both 2016 and 2015.

Yet, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Liberal economic guru Dominic Barton are out making the case for a government-based Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), an agency seemingly designed to throw money at projects.

If Bay Street is awash in cash earmarked for bridges and the like, why is Ottawa intent on creating an infrastructure bank? Story

DAILY DEALS

Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht SA is in advanced talks on selling its majority stake in a $5-billion natural gas pipeline project in Peru to Canada's Brookfield Asset Management Inc, Peru's finance minister said in a televised interview. Story

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Andrew Willis on Teneo's status as a global player. Story

Full stories are reserved exclusively for Globe Unlimited subscribers. Click here to sign up

Interact with The Globe