PwC: Hong Kong IPOs in 2027 to be broadly positive with structural divergence; hard tech to take the baton, but sector maturity varies

During the 9th China International Import Expo, Huang Jinqian, Leader Partner of Capital Markets Services at PwC, said that the buoyancy of Hong Kong's cross-border IPO market since 2026 has not been driven by a single sentiment, but by the combination of three factors: the industry cycle, the optimization of Hong Kong's listing regime, and global capital allocation, and the positive momentum is expected to continue in 2027. Rao Shenghua, Central Region Audit Market Leader Partner at PwC Zhong Tian, said, "The capital market no longer pays only for 'parameters'; it pays for 'implementation'," and corroborated this judgment from two perspectives: market data and valuation logic. Huang first attributed the current boom to a shift in the industry cycle. He noted that AI infrastructure, semiconductors, high-end manufacturing and Siasun Robot&Automation companies are moving from R&D investment toward capacity expansion and commercialization, with larger financing scale and a greater need for participation by Chinese and international investors. This trend is directly reflected in the data. According to Rao, in the first half of 2026, Hong Kong IPO fundraising exceeded HK$210 billion, up 92% year on year and ranking second globally; as of the end of October, HKEX was processing about 600 listing applications, with hard tech such as AI and semiconductors particularly prominent. In other words, the mainstay of listings is shifting from traditional industries to hard tech and the new economy, echoing the industry cycle described by Huang. On the international capital front, Huang stressed that investors are not simply chasing tech concepts, but are focusing more on technology implementation and commercialization capability, order backlog, gross margin, cash flow, and whether companies have global customer and supply chain capabilities. He believes that China's advantages in AI infrastructure, digital economy databases and hardware supply chains are uniquely attractive to international capital. Rao's observations are highly consistent with this and further elaborated from the perspective of valuation logic: "The capital market no longer pays only for 'parameters'; it pays for 'implementation'." In her view, the market wants to answer who is paying, how much they pay, and whether they can keep paying; the technology narrative must shift to the payment model, gross margin and repurchase rate. Companies that complete this shift will gain a more solid valuation foundation. On the institutional front, Huang noted that Hong Kong's listing regime is being continuously optimized. Hong Kong introduced Chapter 18C in 2023 to cover specialist technology companies, established the Tech Enterprises Channel in 2025 to improve application efficiency, and the A+H path allows leading mainland tech companies to access international capital through Hong Kong. In this regard, Rao said the institutional dividend is materializing; the current HKEX review environment is positive, and the secondary market gives valuation attention to hard tech, forming a certain positive cycle. Accordingly, PwC is moving from being a listing "gatekeeper" to a "fellow traveler" of sci-tech innovation companies, helping to establish the right financial architecture and compliance framework at an early stage rather than doing "last-minute cramming" at the application stage.