The market value of publicly listed companies in B.C. hit an all-time high in 2021, led by the mining and technology and communications sectors.
According to BC Capital Market Report, B.C. companies raised $33.2 billion in 2021, a 41% increase over 2020. It was the fourth consecutive year of growth.
The capital raised included both publicly listed companies and private investments through private placements.
The total market value of B.C. publicly listed companies in 2021 was $325 billion, up from $286 billion in 2020.
“B.C. capital-raising, both private and public, as well as the market value of public companies, continued to grow,” said BC Securities Commission (BCSC) director of corporate affairs John Hinze. “Another indicator of the strength of the B.C. capital market in 2021 was the filing of a record number of prospectuses with the BCSC.”
Mining accounted for the lion’s share of the increase in capital raised.
“Mining was by far the largest capital-raising sector among B.C. companies, with 814 companies receiving $10.2 billion in investments, accounting for 31 per cent of the total raised by B.C. companies,” the BCSC says.
Capital raising by technology and communications companies was $8 billion, a 68% increase over 2020, with Telus Corp. (TSX:T) accounting for a significant amount of the capital raised (38%) through through the IPO of its new subsidiary, Telus International (TSX:TIXT), and public offerings issued to raise money for 5G infrastructure.
Here is how other sectors fared:
- real estate -- $4.9 billion, a 75% increase after a slight decrease in 2020;
- biotechnology -- $1.3 billion, a 45% decline over 2020, when capital raising doubled over the previous year;
- cannabis -- $1.1 billion, an 89% increase, following a 72% decline in 2020.
The BCSC notes that B.C. hosts 45% of all publicly listed companies in Canada, and more than half of all venture exchange listed Canadian companies, “reflecting the province’s status as Canada’s primary incubator for new and growing public businesses.”
