Charltons is pleased to announce that our Principal Partner, Julia Charlton, was recently invited to share her expert insights in a CGTN feature on Hong Kong’s standout performance in the initial public offerings (IPO) market during 2025.

In the segment reported by Laura Westbrook from Hong Kong, Julia highlighted the sustained market momentum driving companies particularly from the Chinese mainland to accelerate their listings on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX). She noted that approximately 300 IPO applications are currently in the pipeline, with a strong emphasis on sectors such as AI, semiconductors, healthcare, and biotech areas that Beijing has prioritized for future technological advancement.

The CGTN report underscores Hong Kong’s remarkable recovery in 2025, where the stock market solidified its position as Asia’s leading fundraising hub and the world’s second-largest (and in some metrics, top-ranked) IPO venue. According to HKEX data and independent analyses (including LSEG and EY reports), 119 IPOs raised approximately US$37 billion (with figures ranging from US$36–37.22 billion across sources, including HK$285.8–286.3 billion equivalent). This represented a dramatic rebound, driven by factors such as the enthusiasm sparked by breakthroughs like DeepSeek’s low-cost, high-performance AI model, Beijing’s policy support, and mega secondary listings including EV battery giant CATL, which raised over US$5.2 billion (or around US$4.6 billion in some reports) in one of the year’s largest international offerings.

Julia emphasized Hong Kong’s unique advantages: a free-market environment (compared to mainland exchanges with capital controls), the HKD’s peg to the USD, and appeal to diverse global investors from China, Asia, the Middle East, the US, and Europe. These elements position Hong Kong as an ideal international launchpad for Chinese firms amid intensifying global AI competition and shifting regulatory landscapes.

Economists quoted in the report, including Gary Ng, noted that Hong Kong has benefited from reduced risks associated with US listings for Chinese companies, while regulators face the ongoing challenge of further diversifying beyond mainland issuers.