Behind the scenes of Hong Kong’s IPO revival

The article was first published on HongKongEcho.

A surge in IPOs and equity issuance in the first half of 2026 has reinforced Hong Kong’s appeal as an international financial centre. Some 85 companies completed new listings in the first half of this year, raising a total of US$26.9 billion – a 92% jump year on year and the best first half for five years. ¹

This revival is no accident: behind the scenes, reforms and structural changes have built a strong foundation for continued success. 

Hong Kong’s stock exchange serves as an essential bridge between global investors and the thriving innovation ecosystem in Greater China. Yet as recently as 2022-2023, international investors were shunning new equity offerings, following regulatory changes in the mainland Chinese tech sector in late 2021. 

European funds were among the first institutional investors to return to Hong Kong IPOs, but it was DeepSeek’s breakthrough AI model in early 2025 that proved to be the inflection point. 

As valuations recovered, global investors returned to the market and it became easier for companies to raise funds, especially in the tech and AI segments. That trend remains in place: we have a number of IPO candidates in our pipeline from various innovative sectors. 

A concerted effort to reform Hong Kong’s listing rules has helped make this possible, including the introduction of Chapter 18C in 2023 to allow pre-revenue companies in specialist tech sectors to go public. Thirteen such companies took advantage of that rule in the first half of 2026.

Rules allowing cornerstone investors – the anchor buyers who are restricted from selling the shares they receive in an IPO for at least six months – to buy more shares in the secondary market have also helped new stocks gain traction. ²

The Southbound Stock Connect link with mainland China also adds to Hong Kong’s appeal as a listing venue for companies with close business connections with mainland China. Following reforms in 2023, international companies listed in Hong Kong may also be eligible for Southbound Connect: this could make a Hong Kong listing attractive for European companies with a strong China story, for instance in the luxury goods segment. 

These initiatives make it clear that Hong Kong’s IPO market is a key part of the city’s strategic objective to serve as a superconnector between mainland China and the rest of the world. 

This is why we have made Hong Kong a priority in our own expansion in equity capital markets. Through close collaboration with our European and US colleagues – and with our Bernstein joint venture providing research and distribution – we look forward to helping our clients harness the power of Hong Kong’s equity markets to achieve their cross-border growth and development objectives.  

With stronger foundations in place, we expect Hong Kong’s stock markets will continue to play an essential role in delivering international capital to ambitious companies, through IPOs, follow-on offerings and convertible bonds. 

As the economy evolves, access to capital for innovative technology companies is becoming ever more important. Recent reforms show that the market can evolve, too. 

¹https://kpmg.com/cn/en/media/press-releases/2026/06/hk-delivers-strongest-first-half-ipo-performance-in-5-years-driven-by-record-breaking-a-h-and-specialist-technology-listings.html
²https://www.hkex.com.hk/News/Regulatory-Announcements/2023/2311212news?sc_lang=en