Hong Kong’s IPO haul in first 9 months smashes record despite Nasdaq’s fundraising lead

In the first nine months of 2026, Hong Kong's initial public offerings (IPOs) surpassed all previous records, with a total of 112 companies raising US$48.4 billion on the main board and Growth Enterprise Market. This marked a 72% increase in deal count compared to the same period a year earlier. Despite this impressive performance, Hong Kong still trailed behind Nasdaq, where companies raised US$144 billion during the same period.

The New York Stock Exchange ranked third with US$17.8 billion in IPO proceeds. Worldwide, mainland China's Nasdaq-style SSE Star Market and Shenzhen exchange ranked fourth and seventh, respectively, with US$12.2 billion and US$5 billion in IPO proceeds. Over 500 companies are currently in the listing pipeline in Hong Kong, potentially exceeding 600 when confidential applications are included.

Three to four candidates are expected to raise more than HK$10 billion (US$1.3 billion) in the fourth quarter. Technology, particularly semiconductor, telecommunications equipment, and electronics issuers, drove most of the activity, accounting for 46.9% of total proceeds. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) plans to revise listing rules in the first half of next year to attract more space-related IPOs, capitalizing on the aerospace boom.

Despite the gap with Nasdaq, Hong Kong remains well-positioned to attract both global and mainland Chinese issuers, with the investment bank UBS expecting full-year IPO fundraising in Hong Kong to reach between HK$400 billion and HK$450 billion.