Ernst & Young: raises the forecast for Hong Kong's IPO fundraising amount in 2025 to HK$160 billion, with a chance to rank first in the world.

Ernst & Young released a report on the IPO market in Mainland China and Hong Kong for the first half of 2025. As of June 11, 2025, there were a total of 50 companies listed on the A-share market in the first half of the year, with the primary focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, raising over 37.1 billion RMB in capital. The number of IPOs and the amount of capital raised both increased by 14% compared to the previous year. Cai Weirong, the head of listing services in the Asia-Pacific region at Ernst & Young, stated that the forecast for total capital raised in Hong Kong IPOs for the whole year has been raised to around 160 billion HKD, with a chance to rank first globally. It is also expected that the second half of the year will see a further focus on IPOs in the technology and innovation sectors in the A-share market, with high-quality companies meeting listing requirements leading the way. In terms of industries, the industrial, technology, and materials sectors ranked in the top three for the number of IPOs and capital raised on the A-share market. The automotive industry, as an important pillar industry, has received policy support for its transformation and innovative development. In the first half of 2025, over 30% of the companies listed were in the automotive industry or related industries. Cai Weirong stated that the China Securities Regulatory Commission has recently emphasized greater support for high-quality unprofitable technology companies to go public, indicating that the institutional dividends for technology innovation companies are accelerating, and the financing environment for listings continues to improve. The average capital raised in IPOs in the Beijing Stock Exchange has significantly increased, while average capital raised in other sectors has declined. In the top ten IPOs for the first half of the year, a Beijing Stock Exchange IPO appeared for the first time, ranking fourth. Cai Weirong stated that this year, some high-quality technology companies have been moving towards the Beijing Stock Exchange, demonstrating the increasing attractiveness of the exchange to innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. It is accelerating its transformation from a platform for small and micro-enterprise financing to a gathering place for hard technology companies. Regarding IPO activities in the Hong Kong stock market, Lai Yunfeng, a spokesperson for Ernst & Young's Hong Kong capital market services, believes that with the increasing enthusiasm of A-share companies listing in Hong Kong, the establishment of a "science and technology enterprise express line," and the return of Chinese concept stocks, the heat in the Hong Kong IPO market will continue to rise. The companies planning to list on both A-share and H-share markets are mostly leading companies in specialized fields, with strong scarcity, attracting continuous inflows of international capital and forming a virtuous cycle in the market. It is expected that in the future, more large companies and industry-leading companies will land on the Hong Kong stock market, and the proportion of IPOs in new consumption and hard technology companies will further increase. In the first half of 2025, it is estimated that a total of 36 Chinese companies will debut on the U.S. stock market, raising a total of 841 million USD, with the number of IPOs and the amount of capital raised increasing by 44% and decreasing by 62% respectively compared to the previous year. The lack of large IPOs has led to a "counter-trend" decline in the amount of capital raised. Cai Weirong stated that the listing threshold on NASDAQ has been raised, making it more difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to go public in the U.S. Despite the uncertainties, there are still Chinese companies choosing to list in the U.S. market, laying the groundwork for the future development and market strategy of these companies.