Hong Kong has retained its position as the world’s largest initial public offering (IPO) market in the first quarter of 2026. According to LSEG Data and Analytics statistics cited by South China Morning Post (SCMP), 37 firms listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange’s main board during the first three months, raising roughly US$13.26 billion (HK$103.93 billion), an increase of 453 percent year-on-year.
This result represents the highest quarter for Hong Kong IPO fundraising since 2021, and can be attributed to the strong IPO listings in January. That month saw 95 firms apply for listings, up 231 percent year-on-year.
Almost half of Hong Kong’s IPO and secondary listings in the first quarter were from high-tech firms. Some of these firms included the Shanghai-based AI company MiniMax, which raised HK$4.8 billion (US$620 million).
Concerns have been raised over whether or not Hong Kong’s IPO market can sustain this strong momentum throughout the entire year. Edward Au, southern region managing partner of Deloitte China, told the SCMP: “We’re seeing strong competition from the US, especially with potential mega IPOs in [AI] and space…if those deals go ahead, they could shift the global ranking quite quickly.”
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Other headwinds include concerns raised over staff shortages and “serious deficiencies” among IPO applicants, as well as the ongoing war in Iran and tightening mainland rules on some Chinese firms seeking to list in Hong Kong.
Some analysts, however, remain optimistic. John Lee Chen-kwok, vice-chairman and co-head of Asia coverage at UBS in Hong Kong, told the SCMP that his firm expects the SAR to “still remain in the top three [for the whole of 2026], with the US having a number of mega listings such as SpaceX and OpenAI.”
Hong Kong’s pipeline could receive a further boost if planned listings by firms such as video streaming platform iQiyi and Kunlunxin, Baidu’s AI chip offshoot, are realised.
Nasdaq placed second in the first quarter, raising US$5.65 billion from 18 listings, while the New York Stock Exchange came third with US$4.95 billion from nine IPOs.
