Hong Kong Stock Market IPO fundraising hits a new high, with technology and new economy leading the way

Securities Times reporter Wang Jun

In the first quarter, the Hong Kong stock IPO market delivered an eye-catching performance of “HK$100 billion in financing,” a figure that set a quarterly high since the second quarter of 2021. Data from Wind shows that, as of March 31, the Hong Kong stock market had 40 companies complete their IPOs, up 150% year over year; total funds raised were nearly HK$110 billion, up sharply by 489% year over year. These figures demonstrate the attractiveness and financing capacity of the Hong Kong stock market.

“A+H” companies became the core driving force behind fundraising in the first quarter. Among the 40 newly listed Hong Kong stock companies, 15 are “A+H” dual-listed companies in both places. Among the top 10 companies by financing scale, 7 are already listed on the A-share market; the combined financing scale of these 7 companies exceeds HK$52 billion, accounting for nearly half of the total IPO financing in Hong Kong in the first quarter, highlighting the strategic position of the Hong Kong stock market as an important hub for mainland enterprises’ global capital deployment.

Technology and the new economy take the lead

The key driving force behind the Hong Kong stock IPO market in the first quarter came from large companies listing in batches. Two mainland industry leaders—Muyuan Shares (002714) and Dongpeng Beverage—landed on the Hong Kong stock market one after another. Each company raised more than HK$10 billion, and together contributed more than HK$23 billion. In addition, the listings of semiconductor and AI leaders such as Lanting Technology (688008) and Biren Technology further boosted fundraising scale. Data show that in this year’s first quarter, Hong Kong companies raised HK$109.927 billion through IPOs, up HK$91.258 billion from HK$18.669 billion in the same period of 2025, an increase of 489%.

From an industry distribution perspective, the first-quarter Hong Kong stock IPO market showed a clear “technology emphasis.” Data show that semiconductor, hardware equipment, machinery, pharma and biologics, software services, and medical equipment and services together saw 26 companies listed, accounting for 65%; the fundraising amount was HK$73.350 billion, accounting for 66.73%.

Among them, companies in areas such as semiconductors, software services, and robotics (300024) were listed densely, including AI large-model leader Zhipu, MINIMAX-W, semiconductor design company Zhaoyi Innovation (603986), image sensor leader OmniVision Group, memory interface chip leader Lanting Technology, as well as multiple robotics companies including Huarun Robotics and Aston (002747).

The strong performance of technology companies is also reflected in the secondary market. After Zhipu’s listing, its share price rose one after another. On April 1, it briefly climbed to HK$938 per share intraday, more than 7 times higher than the issue price, and its total market value once exceeded HK$400 billion. After MINIMAX-W’s listing, it also surged one after another, reaching a peak of HK$1,330 per share, becoming the “highest-priced stock” in Hong Kong. By stark contrast, traditional consumer and industrial companies performed weakly. Companies such as Ule Sai Shared, Red Star Cold Chain, and Tung Shifu performed worse after listing, with some even breaking below the issue price on the first trading day.

According to data from the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing House, as of March 31 there were still 430 companies in the queue for a listing in Hong Kong, including 17 companies already approved and awaiting listing, and 413 companies under processing. According to LiveReport data, as of March 31, seven companies in Hong Kong passed the hearing, or are expected to list soon, namely HuaQin Tech (A+H), Siggen New Energy, Quanhke Technology, Shenghong Technology (300476) (A+H), Changguang Chengxin, Leo Lighting (A+H), and Sunmi Technology.

The rapid rebound in the Hong Kong IPO market is the result of resonance between institutional optimization and abundant liquidity. Huatai Securities (601688) said that mainland enterprises still have financing needs, and Hong Kong has carried out targeted reforms in response. “A+H” listing acceleration and the establishment/lowering of dedicated channels for tech companies reduce the time costs and uncertainties faced by enterprises when listing in Hong Kong, among other thresholds. At the same time, a weaker U.S. dollar, low interest rates, and performance in the secondary market have also prompted a rebound in companies’ willingness to list.

The total cornerstone investment surged by more than 7 times

A distinct feature of Hong Kong stocks is that new shares at the time of their IPO typically introduce cornerstone investors. In the first quarter, among newly listed shares, 35 introduced cornerstone investors. The number of cornerstone investors participating in subscriptions totaled 318, up nearly 280 compared with the same period last year. Total cornerstone investment reached HK$45.675 billion, up more than 7 times year over year.

Specifically, in the first quarter, 14 new shares received cornerstone investor subscription amounts of no less than HK$1 billion; among them, the cornerstone investment scale of 10 exceeded HK$2 billion. The top three new shares by cornerstone investment scale are Muyuan Shares, Dongpeng Beverage, and Lanting Technology, with subscriptions of HK$5.342 billion, HK$4.990 billion, and HK$3.509 billion, respectively. In addition, cornerstone investment scales for Zhipu, MINIMAX-W, Dahua CNC, Zhaoyi Innovation, OmniVision Group, and others were all no less than HK$2 billion. Among cornerstone investors, the presence of international and domestic leading institutions is frequent, including Temasek, BlackRock, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Tencent Holdings.

Subscription enthusiasm for new shares runs high

Against the backdrop of the hot listing of new shares, investors have also shown heightened enthusiasm for the Hong Kong stock IPO market.

According to LiveReport data, in the first quarter there were 8 new shares that received subscriptions of more than 200,000. They are Biren Technology, MINIMAX-W, Lanting Technology, Haizhi Technology Group, Mingming Busy, Huarun Robotics, Zhipu, and Guanghe Technology. There were 4 new shares with public subscription over 5,000 times—BBSB INTL, Ule Sai Shared, Haizhi Technology Group, and Huarun Robotics. Among them, BBSB INTL had the highest effective public offering subscription ratio exceeding 10,000 times because its issue size was relatively small.

It should be noted that a high subscription multiple does not mean a new share will not break below the issue price. For example, Ule Sai Shared attracted a surge of funding during the subscription period, but its share price fell 43.64% on the first day of trading.

Recently, the probability of newly listed Hong Kong stocks breaking below the issue price has increased, possibly related to market conditions. Yuan Mei, head of investment research at Sullivan Jieli (Shenzhen) Cloud Technology Co., Ltd., analyzed to Securities Times reporter Wang Jun, saying that the increase in new shares that break below the issue price in Hong Kong is mainly because the energy crisis triggered by geopolitical conflicts has put pressure on risk assets, causing major indices in multiple markets to pull back significantly. For IPO allocation (“hitting the new shares”), performance is more clearly affected by short-term capital and market sentiment. Meanwhile, the long-term rise or fall of stocks is mainly driven by changes in industry trends and company performance.

In the view of Wen Tianna, CEO of Bo Da Capital International in Hong Kong, some new shares’ valuation is tilted toward A-share anchors or prior highs, while Hong Kong investors pay more attention to discounted cash flows, dividend returns, and liquidity. At the same time, some companies’ pricing did not fully factor in differences in risk preferences in the secondary market, leading to adjustments after listing. Hot tracks can attract capital, while individual stocks under pressure from traditional or fundamental factors are more likely to “cool off.”

(Editor-in-charge: Dong Pingping)

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