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Daniel Ren

The Hong Kong stock exchange’s initial public offering (IPO) pipeline remains strong, as the city benefits from its unique role as a connector between mainland Chinese tech start-ups and global investors, according to the bourse operator’s CEO.
Bonnie Chan Yiting, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), said mainland Chinese companies’ interest in listing shares on the bourse was growing as a wave of firms looked to go global.
“More and more mainland firms are choosing Hong Kong as an important platform for international development,” Chan told the HKEX China Conference in Shanghai on Tuesday.
“Those companies not only look to obtain financing support in Hong Kong, but hope to connect with global capital, customers and business partners via Hong Kong so as to accelerate their expansions in overseas markets.”
Her remarks came after a string of blockbuster IPOs on the mainland’s A-share market, which is being bolstered by investors’ voracious appetite for shares in Chinese tech champions such as chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT).
But unlike in Hong Kong, mainland stock exchanges are still mostly off-limits to foreign investors due to China’s capital controls.
Only select foreign institutional investors can buy mainland-listed shares through the qualified institutional investor schemes, while traders in Hong Kong can access the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges through the Stock Connect programme, though the scheme is subject to an investment quota.

With global investors becoming increasingly keen to invest in China’s tech sector, Hong Kong’s reputation as a fundraising destination was gaining additional lustre, according to Chan.
“We have seen positive changes in HKEX’s investor structure,” she said. “More international institutional investors are participating in Hong Kong IPOs to get involved in the development of innovative Chinese companies.”
As international institutions diversified their investments, actively chasing Chinese technology firms amid their low valuations, the HKEX could become the runner-up in IPO fundraising this year, trailing only the United States’ Nasdaq market, said Paul Uren, JPMorgan’s Asia-Pacific investment banking head, in May.
Chinese tech firms in fields ranging from artificial intelligence and robotics to biotechnology are attracting interest from global investors due to their strong research and development capabilities and cost advantages in production, according to analysts.
Several major Chinese players in strategic industries have gone public on Shanghai’s Star Market in recent months, including CXMT and humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics. Chinese regulators have also accepted a listing application from the chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation.
Hong Kong was the world’s top destination for IPO fundraising last year, reclaiming the number one spot for the first time since 2019.
The city’s IPO market has continued to boom this year, with total funds raised jumping 92 per cent to HK$210.2 billion (US$26.8 billion) in the first six months of 2026, data from LSEG Data & Analytics showed.
But the city was still overtaken by the Nasdaq, after Elon Musk’s SpaceX completed its US$75 billion IPO in June.


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Hong Kong remains a top IPO destination for Chinese tech start-ups seeking to connect with global investors, Bonnie Chan Yiting says


Hong Kong remains a top IPO destination for Chinese tech start-ups seeking to connect with global investors, Bonnie Chan Yiting says.


Hong Kong gaining lustre as bridge to China’s tech sector: HKEX CEO

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hong Kong remains a top IPO destination for Chinese tech start-ups seeking to connect with global investors, Bonnie Chan Yiting says

Hong Kong remains a top IPO destination for Chinese tech start-ups seeking to connect with global investors, Bonnie Chan Yiting says