HKEX File Photo
Growing numbers of Chinese mainland enterprises are flocking to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), a trend Chinese experts said once again reflects the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s strengthening role as an ideal financing hub for businesses going global.
The HKEX has seen a strong wave of new listings this year, with a total of 102 companies going public and raising a net HK$238.2 billion ($30.6 billion), a year-on-year surge of 246 percent, according to financial news site Yicai. Hong Kong is poised to secure the title of the world’s top fundraising hub in 2025, said the report.
Another report released by EY showed that as of the end of November, the top 10 IPOs on the HKEX had collectively raised HK$154.7 billion, accounting for more than half of the year’s total financing.
The average fundraising amount rose 137 percent year-on-year, highlighting the growing magnitude of large-scale IPOs and their rising significance in the Hong Kong market.
Large-scale IPOs from the mainland have become a key driving force behind the rise of the Hong Kong stock market, according to experts and media reports.
Statistics from Choice showed that CATL raised a net HK$35.331 billion this year, while Zijin Gold International secured HK$24.469 billion, Sany Heavy Industry raised HK$13.307 billion, and Foshan Haitian Flavouring & Food Co raised HK$10 billion, with all transactions exceeding HK$10 billion, Yicai reported.
Hong Kong has long sought to attract mainland companies to list on its stock exchange, with many innovative technology firms from the mainland looking to leverage the city as a platform to secure funding, expand internationally, and maximize corporate value, Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times.
From an industry layout perspective, the current period is a window for companies to achieve global expansion through financing in Hong Kong, Hu Qimu, a deputy secretary-general of the Forum 50 for Digital-Real Economies Integration, told the Global Times on Friday, noting that “it’s not merely about raising funds but also about leveraging capital connections to drive global business development.”
Notably, many technology unicorns are among those seeking to list in Hong Kong.
For example, MiniMax and Zhipu AI, two of China’s leading developers of large artificial intelligence models, have recently passed listing hearings for the HKSE, clearing a key hurdle toward IPOs, according to a separate report by Yicai on Thursday, citing multiple sources.
“This trend is encouraging as it aligns with the nation’s push for new quality productive forces, while also reflecting the Hong Kong stock market’s growing capacity to support both new consumer and hard technology sectors,” Hu said.
Hong Kong has reclaimed the top spot in global IPO market rankings for the first time since 2019, driven by a record number of A+H listings that contributed more than half of the total funds raised, according to KPMG’s Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong IPO Markets 2025 Review and 2026 Outlook.
Hu said that this demonstrates that Hong Kong’s role as an international financial center remains unchanged, and that as the world’s largest offshore hub for the yuan, the city will continue to be an attractive choice both from a commercial standpoint and for risk management purposes for mainland companies.
Global Times
