The initial public offering (IPO)market shows at least two signs of a revival: a pipeline is building for 2004 and the US market has experienced its best December in three years.
But not all the evidence points to a rapid recovery and bankers are cautious in their predictions about the prospects for 2004.
Mr Matthew Westerman, head of European equity capital markets at Goldman Sachs, says: "I don't see a huge rush but there will be more than this year."
Although economic growth looks to be recovering and stock volatility falling, the markets are still decidedly fragile, with selling pressure never far away.
In Europe, large deals in the pipeline include IPOs by Belgacom, the Belgian phone company worth about €4 billion; Deutsche Post; and the UK travel group Saga. In the US, names include Genworth Financialand Assurant.
The US market received a boost this year from China Life, the insurance company that succeeded in placing the biggest IPO of the year in a joint listing in Hong Kong and New York.
The steady upturn in US sentiment since September culminated in a peak week of 10 deals before Christmas.
In Europe, Citigroup has identified 100 potential IPOs for next year, "worth €65 billion if they all happen". Of these, about a third by value would be government privatisations and a third would be sales by venture capitalists.
The joker in the pack in 2004 will be internet search engine Google, estimated to be worth more than $15 billion (€12 billion). That deal may come as early as the spring.
