① Institutions remain bullish on the continued vigor of the Hong Kong stock market's new issue sector; what are the primary positive expectations driving this sentiment? ② As capitalization accelerates in emerging technology sectors such as artificial intelligence, what other key developments should be watched for the remainder of the year?
Cailianshe, October 6 (Editor: Feng Yi) Since the beginning of this year, IPO activity in the Hong Kong stock market has shown a marked recovery and is accelerating. With mainland Chinese enterprises speeding up their listings in Hong Kong and emerging tech companies in fields like artificial intelligence rapidly advancing their capitalization, market sentiment remains optimistic about the future performance of Hong Kong's new issue market.
Data from Wind shows that in the first three quarters of this year, 115 companies completed IPOs and listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, a year-on-year increase of 69.12%. The total funds raised reached HK$385.566 billion, up 105.18% year-on-year, surpassing the total amount raised throughout the entire previous year. Among major global stock markets, Hong Kong's IPO fundraising volume ranks second only to Nasdaq. Three new listings this year have already entered the global top ten largest IPOs, highlighting the strong momentum of the current Hong Kong new issue market.
According to local Hong Kong media reports, synthesizing views from multiple accounting firms and market participants, there is a widespread expectation that the IPO momentum in the Hong Kong stock market will continue in the fourth quarter. In an optimistic scenario, the total annual fundraising could hit a record high of HK$480 billion.
The report stated that PwC indicated that the fourth quarter is traditionally the peak season for Hong Kong's IPO market. Currently, there are over 500 IPO applications under processing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, reflecting sustained activity in new listings.
The firm also predicted that three to five large-scale new listings with fundraising sizes exceeding HK$5 billion would still come to market in the fourth quarter. Companies listing in Hong Kong are likely to be concentrated in artificial intelligence and related supply chains, semiconductors and hard-tech enterprises, high-end manufacturing and advanced industrial companies, biotechnology and healthcare firms, as well as new energy and green technology enterprises. These industries align with national directives to promote innovative technology and the development of new quality productive forces, and they represent growth sectors of significant interest to international investors.
Notably, AI unicorns such as Moonshot AI and Keling AI have recently been reported to be accelerating their plans for listings on the Hong Kong stock exchange. These moves could become the next source of incremental growth for Hong Kong's technology sector and help sustain activity in the new issue market.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Moonshot AI has completed its final round of private financing with a valuation of approximately US$50 billion and is proceeding with an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong scheduled for the first quarter of next year. Additionally, Keling AI, the video generation large language model under Kuaishou, is reportedly planning to list in Hong Kong as early as next year, aiming to raise at least US$1 billion.
Deloitte, another of the Big Four accounting firms, estimates that Hong Kong's new issue market will see 160 new listings this year, with total fundraising potentially reaching HK$480 billion. This forecast represents a significant upward revision from Deloitte's previously published estimate of HK$300 billion.
Ou Zhenxing, Partner and Head of South China at Deloitte China, stated that the reason for the upward revision lies in the market's revaluation of the AI industry chain. This round of revaluation is not limited to chip manufacturers or large model developers but has also driven gains in related upstream and downstream sectors.
Deloitte also forecasts that the Hong Kong stock market may see three to four mega-cap initial public offerings (IPOs) in the final quarter, each raising over RMB 10 billion.