Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing's business is booming: 35 companies launched IPOs in 3 weeks, with 534 more in the pipeline, and fundraising is expected to reach HK$380 billion this year

Within three weeks, 35 companies are flocking to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in an extremely intense "listing wave." The spectacle of the "HKEX being nearly overwhelmed" has occurred twice in the past two weeks.

On June 26, six companies and the E Fund HKEX Technology 100 Index ETF (HK03456) made their debut on the HKEX on the same day, attracting a net fundraising of approximately HK$19.2 billion for the Hong Kong market in a single day. During the speech session, even Tang Jiacheng, the Chairman of the HKEX, who is accustomed to large - scale events, couldn't help but exclaim, "I've never seen so many people in this hall."

On June 30, the HKEX witnessed another lively moment with five gongs ringing simultaneously. Except for Liangqing Holdings (HK03774), a local Hong Kong medical beauty service provider that transferred from the GEM (Growth Enterprise Market) to the Main Board, the other four were all new listings.

Next week, on July 8 and July 9, it is expected that there will be two "memorable scenes" where the chairmen of six companies will ring the gong on stage at the same time.

A reporter from NBD (National Business Daily) found through statistics that among the 19 new shares that listed on the HKEX last week (from June 22 to June 26) and this week (from June 29 to July 3), 14 showed varying degrees of increase on their first trading day, while 5 broke their issue prices on the first day.

Among them, Baige Online (HK02672), known as the "first AI (Artificial Intelligence) stock in scenario insurance," had the highest increase on its first trading day, reaching an astonishing 367.95%. Haiqing Zhiyuan (HK01392), the "first multi - spectral AI stock," Ketuo Co., Ltd. (HK02272), the "first stock in intelligent parking space operation," and Zhenjiankang Medical - B (HK02697), the "first stock in puncture surgical robots," also saw increases of over 200% on their first trading days. Huajian Future - B (HK06132), a clinical - stage biotech company, became the new share with the largest decline on its first trading day in the past two weeks, with a decline of 56.89%.

According to Futu data, in terms of the cumulative gains and losses of the 19 new shares as of the close on July 2, Baige Online ranked first with a cumulative increase of 252.56%, while Huajian Future - B ranked first in terms of cumulative decline with a 49.39% drop.

Listing before the expiration of the six - month performance validity period

Since last week, new shares have been listing on the HKEX almost every weekday, mostly in the technology and biomedical industries.

Last week, 11 companies, including Haiqing Zhiyuan, Xingyuan Materials (HK06067), Huajian Future - B, Maike Pharmaceutical - B (HK02335), Xianggong Intelligence (HK06106), Xinqi Micro - Equipment (HK09630), MERDEKAGOLD - DRS (HK06228), Shengbang Co., Ltd. (HK03661), Ketuo Co., Ltd., Zhongke Wenge (HK01956), and Lingyi Precision Industry (HK01688), successively listed on the Main Board of the HKEX.

This week, 9 companies, including Haiguang Xinzheng (HK01191), Baige Online, Libang Pharmaceutical - B (HK09637), Zhenjiankang Medical - B, Laifu Harmonic (HK03952), Xunlong Technology (HK06715), Jiangxi Biotech (HK06915), Liangqing Holdings (transfer to the Main Board), and Anker Innovations (HK00668), successively listed on the Main Board of the HKEX.

Next week (from July 6 to July 10), 15 companies, including Tongrentang Healthcare (HK02667), Dongfang Kemai (HK01770), Momenta - W (HK06880), Ruiwei Technology (HK07656), Yikong Zhijia (HK07687), Baogai New Materials (HK08090), Jiben Semiconductor (HK09971), Puyuan Jingdian (HK00537), Dingtai High - tech (HK01377), Luxshare Precision Industry (HK02475), Qiyunshan Food (HK02797), Luoshi Robotics (HK03752), Sanhuan Group (HK06951), Jinghe Integration (HK02249), and Binhua Co., Ltd. (HK06745), will successively list on the Main Board of the HKEX.

Regarding the reason for the concentrated listings in these weeks, on July 2, Huang Jinqian, the lead partner of the capital markets services at PricewaterhouseCoopers (referred to as PwC in Hong Kong), told a reporter from NBD that according to the relevant listing rules of the HKEX, there is a six - month validity period for the performance of companies' applications. Currently, mainland companies seeking to list in Hong Kong usually use December 31 as the performance settlement date. This has led to the phenomenon of companies submitting prospectuses and listing in a concentrated manner at the end of June each year.

"If a company submits its application materials before the end of June, the listing process can be postponed to July. Therefore, the period from the end of June to the middle of July each year often sees a peak in Hong Kong stock listings," Huang Jinqian said.

If a company fails to complete its Hong Kong stock listing within the six - month validity period of its financial data, the original audit report will directly become invalid, and it must supplement the latest financial audit. Whether it continues to hire the original auditor or changes the institution, there will be an additional audit expense. Coupled with the supporting costs such as sponsorship, legal services, and material re - production, the overall cost of IPO (Initial Public Offering) will be further increased.

There are still 534 listing applications being processed by the HKEX

It's worth noting that the recent concentrated listings are just a microcosm of the booming Hong Kong IPO market. According to the latest statistics disclosed by the HKEX, as of June 30, 2026, there are still 534 listing applications being processed by the HKEX.

This number has indeed "scared off" some companies originally planning to list in Hong Kong.

On the evening of June 30, Nuosiland (BJ920047) announced the termination of its plan to issue H - shares and list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Instead, it will issue A - shares to specific investors to raise no more than 300 million yuan. Xu Songshan, the Chairman of Nuosiland, told a reporter from NBD that there is a long queue for H - share listings, and the Beijing Stock Exchange encourages science and technology innovation companies to solve their funding needs through on - market refinancing.

On July 2, PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the Big Four accounting firms, released the "2026 Mid - year Review and Outlook of the Hong Kong IPO Market." According to PwC's statistics, in the first half of 2026, both the total fundraising amount and the number of listings in the Hong Kong IPO market reached new highs for the same period in the past five years.

During this period, the Hong Kong IPO market raised a total of HK$210 billion, a year - on - year increase of 92%, ranking second globally. A total of 87 new shares were listed, a year - on - year increase of 98%. Among them, 83 companies listed on the Main Board, 2 companies transferred from the GEM to the Main Board, 1 company listed by way of introduction, and 1 company listed on the GEM.

"A + H" companies accounted for half of the IPO fundraising. The data disclosed by PwC shows that in the first half of the year, the total fundraising amount of "A + H" companies was HK$121.7 billion. Mainland companies in popular fields such as AI, semiconductors, and hard technology are seeking dual listings on the Hong Kong and mainland exchanges, or listing in Hong Kong first and then conducting secondary issuances on the mainland.

At the press conference, Huang Jinqian told media reporters, including a reporter from NBD, "We expect the total IPO fundraising amount in Hong Kong this year to reach HK$380 billion, and it is expected to remain one of the world's top three IPO markets. In addition, the performance of new shares on their first trading day has also improved significantly. More than 80% of them recorded an increase in their share prices on the first day, higher than about 70% in the first half of 2025, which further boosts the confidence of companies to list in Hong Kong."

Disclaimer: The content and data in this article are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Please verify before use. Any actions taken based on this information are at your own risk.

This article is from the WeChat official account "National Business Daily." Author: Li Xukui. Editors: Zhang Jinhe, Chen Junjie, Du Hengfeng. Proofreader: Liang Luyue. Republished by 36Kr with permission.