Hong Kong's initial public offering boom has expanded well beyond the technology sector, with more than 100 companies completing listings so far this year and total funds raised surpassing $40 billion, according to the city's exchange operator. This figure has already eclipsed the full-year IPO fundraising total for 2025, underscoring the strength of the current listing cycle.
Bonnie Chan, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, said in an interview that the pipeline of companies preparing to list is far more diverse than the hot artificial intelligence and technology plays currently dominating headlines. "We still have a large number of quality companies in our pipeline that plan to complete their IPOs by the end of the year," Chan noted, highlighting that the reserve queue spans biotechnology, mining, and consumer-focused businesses alongside the surge in AI-related listings.
The exchange's half-year results, released on Wednesday, showed record profits and revenue for the period, with net profit climbing 24% year-on-year to HK$10.57 billion (approximately $1.35 billion), exceeding analyst expectations. HKEX attributed the robust trading activity to the sustained IPO momentum and growing participation from overseas issuers and investors.
Chan emphasized that the market's vitality is not solely driven by primary listings, as secondary fundraising is also making a substantial contribution. She revealed that follow-on equity offerings on the Hong Kong market have already surpassed $50 billion this year, compared with $66 billion raised through the same channel during the entirety of 2025.
The Asian financial hub continues to attract strong investor interest, with average daily trading volume reaching HK$280 billion since the start of 2026, up from HK$250 billion across the whole of last year. Chan said the market is now drawing back a significant number of high-quality investors, with sovereign wealth funds from around the globe serving as cornerstone investors in many IPOs.
When asked whether market liquidity is primarily driven by mainland Chinese capital, overseas institutional investors, IPO fundraising, or the AI-themed rally, Chan said the liquidity is coming from all of these sources combined. While southbound trading volumes have remained broadly steady, the overall rise in average daily turnover suggests that investors from other global regions have significantly increased their trading activity in the Hong Kong market.
"Overall, participation from institutional investors across the world has clearly increased, and even retail investors from the Asia-Pacific region are trading at quite substantial levels," Chan added.