Hong Kong’s IPO boom extends beyond tech, HKEX CEO says, as fundraising tops $40 billion

Hong Kong's IPO pipeline is supported by companies beyond the 'fashionable' tech sector, Hong Kong Exchange CEO Bonnie Chan told CNBC.

Speaking to CNBC's Emily Tan, Chan said that more than 100 companies have listed so far this year, with proceeds exceeding $40 billion. This has already surpassed the $37 billion raised during the entire 2025.

While there has been a surge in listings from AI and the broader tech sector, Chan highlighted that the exchange's IPO pipeline was well-diversified, pointing to biotechnology, mining, and consumer companies.

"We still have a lot of pretty good high quality companies in the pipeline trying to get their IPOs done before the end of the year," she said.

Chan's comments come as the exchange posted record half-yearly profits and revenue on Wednesday, with net profit climbing 24% year on year to 10.57 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.35 billion), beating analysts' expectations.

"Market activity remained buoyant, supported by factors like sustained IPO momentum and growing interest from global issuers and investors," HKEX said. The exchange's strength is not only limited to IPOs, Chan pointed out, but also follow-on offerings.

Chan said that follow-on offerings stand at over $50 billion year to date, compared to $66 billion for the full year last year.

Investor interest has also remained robust in the Asian financial hub. Average daily turnover in Hong Kong has hit HK$280 billion since the start of the year, compared to HK$250 billion for the whole of 2025, according to the HKEX CEO.

Average daily turnover, or ADT, measures the total value of shares or contracts traded per day.

Chan said that what she is seeing are "high quality investors" taking a renewed interest to the city's markets, pointing out that cornerstone investors in IPOs have included sovereign wealth funds "from every corner of the world."

When asked if money from mainland China, international institutional investors, IPOs, or AI were driving the liquidity into Hong Kong, Chan said it was coming from all those sources.

She said that in terms of Southbound trading, turnover was largely stable, but as overall ADT has increased, "that means that the rest of the world is trading more in our market."

Southbound trading refers to flows from Mainland China into Hong Kong, while Northbound trading refers to foreign and Hong Kong based investors investing into shares in Mainland China.

"Broadly speaking, I see more participation from institutional investors from around the world. Even regional retail investors have come to our market in meaningful volumes," she said.