IPO Fundraising Tops The World, A Review Of Ten Key Themes For Hong Kong Stocks In 2025

In 2025 Hong Kong’s equity market completed a structural transformation, shifting from a perceived “valuation lowland” to an “industrial highland.” Policy incentives, returning capital and corporate upgrades combined to reshape the Hong Kong Exchange’s role as a primary international venue for allocating Chinese core assets. At the same time, accelerated trading‑mechanism reforms, elevated dividend and buyback activity, and the international expansion of mainland brokerages signaled the Exchange’s broader strategic ambitions.

Across ten dimensions — including the IPO ecosystem, two‑way capital flows, institutional innovation, corporate behavior and global expansion — the year produced a set of defining developments for Hong Kong equities.

Hong Kong led global IPO fundraising in 2025. Wind data show that by December 26 a total of 111 companies listed on the Exchange, raising HKD 278.678 billion. This marked the first time in four years that annual IPO proceeds in Hong Kong exceeded HKD 200 billion, and it placed the Exchange ahead of both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq in total funds raised. The surge was driven by large technology names, new‑energy leaders and biopharmaceutical issuers. Among the year’s top ten IPOs, eight raised more than HKD 10 billion and two exceeded HKD 5 billion; Contemporary Amperex Technology, Zijin Gold International, Sany Heavy Industry and Seres were among the global top ten IPOs, collectively raising HKD 99.37 billion, or 35.66% of the year’s total. Deloitte estimated Hong Kong would complete 114 new listings in 2025, raising about HKD 286.3 billion, with IPO counts up roughly 63% and fundraising more than doubling; Nasdaq ranked second and India’s National Stock Exchange third by proceeds.

The Exchange also saw multiple milestone “first stocks” across emerging sectors, enriching market breadth and establishing benchmarks for new industry verticals. The first pre‑profit biotech listings under Chapter 18A and the first specialized technology listings under Chapter 18C were particularly notable: Wind recorded 17 Chapter 18A listings in 2025, up from four in 2024, and five Chapter 18C listings, an increase of two year‑on‑year. These issuers, focused on innovative therapeutics and oncology, used the Hong Kong platform to accelerate R&D financing. Consumer and new‑energy niches produced their own “firsts” as well: Ba Ma Tea listed as a leading high‑end Chinese tea stock, Deep Technology debuted as an AI‑application specialist under Chapter 18C, and HashKey Holdings became the city’s first listed digital‑asset company, establishing a compliance reference for virtual‑asset development. Other inaugural listings included companies positioned as leaders in AI‑enabled industrial inspection and PDGF‑related biotech.

A+H dual listings reached record levels as mainland companies and Hong Kong issuers deepened cross‑market linkages. Nineteen A+H listings were added in 2025, including subsidiaries of central enterprises and local state‑owned reform exemplars, reflecting policy support for state‑owned enterprise reform and capital‑market integration. A+H issuers occupied four of the year’s five largest IPO slots, with Contemporary Amperex Technology raising over HKD 41 billion and other major names such as Sany Heavy Industry, Seres and Hengrui Medicine each raising in excess of HKD 10 billion. Spin‑offs and cross‑listings further matured into a multi‑layered ecosystem, with mainland groups planning Hong Kong spinoffs while some Hong Kong companies pursued listings on mainland exchanges.

Investor demand for new issues reached unprecedented levels. Of the 111 new listings by December 26, 107 were oversubscribed, and a notable subset recorded extreme subscription multiples: 15 issues exceeded 5,000 times, 34 exceeded 2,000 times and 38 surpassed 1,000 times. Golden Leaf International Group set a new record with more than 11,500 times oversubscription for its public offering, becoming the first Hong Kong IPO to breach the 10,000‑times mark. Importantly, this surge in demand followed regulatory measures that curtailed leveraged IPO speculation, indicating that oversubscription in 2025 reflected genuine investor interest and capital inflows rather than excessive leverage.

Refinancing activity was exceptionally strong. Total equity financing — encompassing IPOs, placements, public offerings and rights issues — reached USD 595.368 billion for the year, up 45.79% year‑on‑year and the highest since 2022. Wind data show Hong Kong refinancing totaled HKD 314.886 billion by December 26, surpassing the combined issuance of the prior two years and setting a new post‑2018 record. Market leaders dominated the issuance calendar: BYD raised HKD 43.509 billion through an H‑share placement, while Xiaomi（01810.HK）raised HKD 42.6 billion via a large placement to support expansion and R&D.

Dividend distributions also reached historic highs. Hong Kong listed companies paid a combined HKD 1.46 trillion in dividends in 2025, up 6.22% year‑on‑year and the largest total on record. This marked the seventh consecutive year that aggregate dividends exceeded HKD 1 trillion. A broad base of 978 companies declared dividends across 1,490 distributions, with financials, energy and telecommunications among the largest contributors. Major institutions such as China Construction Bank, China Mobile, HSBC Holdings, CNOOC and ICBC ranked among the top dividend payers. Policy improvements to dividend frameworks and an earnings recovery supported this trend, reinforcing Hong Kong’s appeal to long‑term capital such as pension and insurance funds and creating a virtuous cycle of dividend attraction and capital inflows.

Southbound capital flows reached a new peak. Net southbound inflows into Hong Kong totaled HKD 1.41 trillion in 2025, a 74.37% increase over 2024 and a record high since the Stock Connect mechanism began. Cumulative southbound net purchases since the program’s inception exceeded HKD 5.1 trillion, with 2025 accounting for 27.59% of that total. Policy enhancements also broadened investor access: the Cross‑Border Wealth Management Connect raised individual investment limits from RMB 3 million to RMB 5 million, and six Hong Kong ETFs were added to southbound eligibility in October, expanding mainland investors’ channels for offshore allocation.

The Hang Seng Index strengthened materially, rising 28.71% year‑to‑date and positioning itself for the best annual performance since 2017. Record southbound inflows, optimism around AI and easing expectations supported the rally, which followed an 18% gain in 2024. Financials contributed the largest sectoral impact, adding 3,521 index points, with consumer discretionary and information technology also performing strongly. Notable individual performers included China Hongqiao, SMIC, Pop Mart and Cinda Biotech, each advancing more than 120%. The index’s coverage expanded with six new constituents, bringing the total to 89 as of the December 8 review and moving the benchmark toward its 100‑constituent objective.

Trading‑mechanism reforms accelerated in the second half of the year, targeting lot sizes, price increments, settlement efficiency and regulatory frameworks. The Exchange streamlined lot‑size categories, halved the minimum lot‑value guideline from HKD 2,000 to HKD 1,000 and introduced a HKD 50,000 cap for certain issuers, while reducing minimum tick sizes for stocks in the HKD 10–50 range by up to 60% to lower trading costs and improve price discovery. Settlement‑cycle discussions explored shortening T+2 to T+1 or T+0 to reduce counterparty risk and capital lock‑up, though operational and cross‑border coordination challenges remain. Regulatory adjustments included replacing mandatory suspension for insufficient public float with disclosure‑based oversight and tightening IPO pricing practices to enhance issuer quality.

Finally, “going global” emerged as a defining corporate theme. Chinese brokerages used Hong Kong as a springboard for international expansion, with firms such as Huatai International and CICC Hong Kong establishing presences in the Middle East and Southeast Asia and underwriting cross‑border listings. At the same time, a significant number of Hong Kong companies pursued U.S. listings, and more than 40 Hong Kong‑listed firms announced overseas factory or acquisition plans in sectors including electric vehicles, photovoltaics and AI chips. Wind data show 38 Hong Kong companies listed in the U.S. during the year, underscoring Hong Kong’s role as a “super‑connector” in the globalization of Chinese enterprises. Leading mainland brokerages consolidated their positions in Hong Kong IPO sponsorship, with CICC International and CITIC Securities (Hong Kong) sponsoring 39 and 31 listings respectively, leveraging deep domestic expertise and global capital networks to support mainland issuers’ cross‑border financing needs.