HKEX: In the first quarter of 2025, the new stock market welcomed 17 listed companies with a total fundraising amount of approximately HK$17.7 billion.

On May 2, Johnson, the head of the HKEX (00388) Global Listing Services Department, shared the latest growth trends and attractiveness of Hong Kong as a leading new stock market. Johnson said that in the new stock fundraising market, the amount raised in initial public offerings has also increased significantly. Since last summer, the new stock market has been very active; in the first quarter of 2025, the new stock market welcomed 17 new listed companies, raising approximately HK$17.7 billion (about US$2 billion), more than double the amount raised in the same period last year. More importantly, in terms of the number of new listing applications, many large and high-quality companies have already submitted listing applications or announced their intention to list in Hong Kong. Another point of excitement is the increased activity in Hong Kong's secondary market. In just the first quarter of this year, the secondary market raised over US$18 billion, a 20-fold increase compared to the same period last year. This includes two large-scale secondary offerings, including BYD Company Limited's US$5.6 billion private placement and Xiaomi Group's US$5.5 billion financing. In fact, these two transactions are two of the three largest secondary offerings globally so far this year. In terms of different fundraising structures, the Hong Kong market has also recorded the largest convertible bond issuance in the Hong Kong stock market, with Baidu issuing US$2 billion worth of bonds convertible into Ctrip equity. Lastly, Hong Kong has the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, through which issuers can connect with Chinese investors, making it a very attractive market channel for Hong Kong. Johnson pointed out several clear trends in the new stock market in 2025. Firstly, A+H listings, where A-share companies listed in Mainland China choose to list in Hong Kong. This trend began with the listing of Meituan in September last year, followed by S.F. Holding listing in Hong Kong. Currently, there are about 30 companies that have already submitted applications or publicly announced their intentions to list in Hong Kong through the A+H structure. Secondly, companies listed under Chapters 18A and 18C of the listing rules, which are more colloquially known as companies focusing on technology development, including new economy and biotechnology companies. So far, three companies have listed under Chapter 18C, and more specialized technology companies are expected to list in the future. Overall, the main trends in the new stock market include new economy, artificial intelligence, new energy, and technology unicorns. The Hong Kong market provides a very good listing platform for these companies, and it is hoped that the Hong Kong market will attract more companies from these sectors. It is worth mentioning that the dialogue between issuers in Hong Kong and the Asian region (especially the ASEAN region) has significantly increased, with many companies considering the benefits of listing in Hong Kong. For example, in the past few months, several ASEAN companies have successfully listed in Hong Kong. In the fourth quarter of last year, a Singapore-based e-commerce company successfully listed in Hong Kong through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (De-SPAC) transaction. Looking back at the first quarter, in March, an aluminum company based in Indonesia also successfully listed in Hong Kong. It is well-known that Hong Kong has always had a very close relationship with the ASEAN region in Asia. Recently, HKEX has implemented several other measures. One is the inclusion of the Stock Exchange of Thailand in the list of recognized stock exchanges in Hong Kong, and a Thai beverage company has already submitted a formal application. In addition to Asia, the Middle East is also a market that Hong Kong is actively developing. Hong Kong has announced the opening of an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this year, and has signed a cooperation memorandum with the Saudi Arabian Stock Exchange Group, hoping to strengthen the cooperation between Hong Kong and the entire Middle East region. Furthermore, Johnson also mentioned that Hong Kong hopes to help more overseas listed companies return to Hong Kong for listing. There are mainly two types of overseas listed companies that Hong Kong is in contact with. The first type is Chinese ADRs (American depositary receipts) listed in the United States that are returning to Hong Kong for listing. Since Alibaba in 2019, more than 30 such ADR companies have returned to Hong Kong for listing in the past five or six years. The second type is overseas companies listed on international exchanges. What the Hong Kong market and HKEX can provide is an alternative listing platform outside their local market. Hong Kong has many international investors, and through the Stock Connect program, they can access onshore Chinese investors. If they have a dual listing in Hong Kong, it can bring a larger potential investor base to international companies. In addition, especially for companies that do not trade in the Asian time zone, a dual listing can extend their trading hours every day, which is a significant advantage. Hong Kong is committed to continuously optimizing the listing environment for the benefit of issuers. Firstly, Hong Kong has just completed a consultation on the pricing of the initial public offering market. This consultation was quite comprehensive, covering pricing procedures, distribution structures, different allocation structures, and different investor categories. The consultation period has ended, and it is believed that the consultation results will be announced soon, along with the introduction of optimization measures. Secondly, HKEX and the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong jointly announced a timetable last year to optimize the new listing application approval process, with the aim of further enhancing the transparency of the new listing application approval process. There is also the "TechConnect" in preparation. Lastly, Hong Kong has also mentioned the "REIT Connect" that is currently under study.