Hong Kong stock listings this year could surpass last year’s pace, driven by an influx of new economy companies and a “homecoming” of Chinese firms, the head of listings at the territory’s exchange said.
“We are only into March, but from what I see in the pipeline, we will be as busy if not more busy this year,” Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd’s head of listing Bonnie Chan (陳翊庭) said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday.
Hong Kong is in the midst of a surge in listing, with initial public offerings (IPOs) continuing at a fast clip after reaching a decade-high last year. The bourse has seen an influx of big Chinese technology companies, which have sold shares in the territory in part to supplement New York listings amid tension between the US and China.
Photo: AP
Listings so far this year have reached almost US$10 billion, after US$52 billion in deals last year.
In the meantime, stocks are in the midst of a sell-off amid global jitters about rising interest rates. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index has slid 6 percent from last month.
“The theme will be more or less the same,” Chan said. “We are certainly seeing a lot of interests from new economy companies, especially biotech companies, and the homecoming trend continues.”
Chan also said the bourse is studying allowing special-purpose acquisition companies to list in Hong Kong, but that it needs to be “mindful” of investor protections.
“What we want to do is to obviously study the commercial viability and the attractiveness in order to maintain Hong Kong as an attractive market, competitive market,” she said.
A recently proposed hike in Hong Kong’s stamp duty on stock trades has not materially reduced trading volume in the territory, she said.
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