Hong Kong has become the top IPO venue for Chinese companies in 2025, overtaking the US as the preferred destination.

So far this year, 46 Chinese firms have raised a combined US$16.5 billion in Hong Kong.

In comparison, 16 Chinese companies listed in the US raised about US$740.9 million.

The city’s exchange has benefited from regulatory changes that speed up listings for large mainland companies and stronger investor sentiment.

Recent IPOs in Hong Kong saw average first-day share price jumps of 19.4%, compared to 3.6% for US listings.

Tensions between the US and China, along with regulatory uncertainty and delisting risks in New York, have further pushed Chinese firms toward Hong Kong.

Major deals included CATL’s US$5.3 billion IPO, driving a 695% year-on-year surge in Hong Kong’s first-half IPO proceeds.

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🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Geopolitical tensions drive fundamental shifts in global capital markets

The dramatic reversal in Chinese companies’ listing preferences demonstrates how quickly geopolitical tensions can reshape global financial flows.

Just a decade ago, New York was the preferred destination for Chinese IPOs, with Alibaba raising $25 billion on the NYSE in 2014 1. Today, Hong Kong has captured the majority with 46 Chinese companies raising $16.5 billion compared to just 16 US listings worth $740.9 million 1.

The 2022 auditing dispute nearly triggered the delisting of approximately 300 Chinese companies valued at $1 trillion from US exchanges, damaging confidence in cross-border listings 1.

This shift extends beyond individual company decisions to represent a structural change in how businesses navigate increasingly fragmented global markets.

The performance gap further highlights this trend, with Hong Kong debuts averaging 19.4% gains versus 3.6% in the US, suggesting stronger investor appetite and market conditions 1.

2️⃣ Strategic market infrastructure changes can capture competitive advantage during disruption

Hong Kong’s success stems from deliberate regulatory adaptations that capitalized on US-China tensions rather than simply benefiting passively.

The exchange introduced fast-track IPO approvals in 2019 for established companies with minimum HK$10 billion market capitalization, reducing review periods to just 30 days 1.

This infrastructure advantage helped attract major deals like CATL’s $5.26 billion flotation and created a pipeline of 150-200 companies seeking listings, including multiple billion-dollar deals 1.

Hong Kong’s 2019 rule changes also enabled secondary listings, starting with Alibaba’s $12.9 billion raise that year, which established the template for other major Chinese tech companies to follow 1.

The exchange’s strategic positioning as “neutral ground” during the 2022 US-China auditing dispute further reinforced its role as a viable alternative to traditional US markets.

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