Hong Kong IPO fundraising in first three quarters hits near-15-year record

On October 18, citing Zhitong Finance, in the first three quarters of 2026, a total of 115 companies listed on the Hong Kong IPO market, raising HK$385.566 billion, exceeding the full-year level of any year since 2011. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Deloitte and KPMG recently said that Hong Kong's full-year IPO financing could approach HK$500 billion.

The hot market has also benefited intermediaries. The top three underwriters together accounted for 42% of underwriting scale. However, resource constraints among sponsors and practice quality remain under regulatory scrutiny. On October 13, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission said resource constraints have eased somewhat, reflected in the share of active listing applications held by the five most active sponsors falling from 77% at the start of the year to 65% in September; the number of overburdened principal signatories fell 78%. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission specifically reminded that sponsors should currently be wary of opaque arrangements involving initial public offerings and post-listing activities, which could generate suspicious subscription instructions, artificially inflate share demand in initial public offerings, or facilitate trading activities that could potentially manipulate the market after listing.