Hong Kong IPO market booms as more mainland giants return: HKEX CEO

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.Coming up on today’s programHKEX is absolutely confident in having mainland giants, said CEO Bonnie Chan;China's central bank unveils eight major financial opening-up measures at 2025 Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai.Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours Since Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) reformed its listing rules in 2018, 33 Chinese firms listed in the U.S. have debuted in Hong Kong, accounting for over 70 percent of the total market value of all U.S.-listed Chinese equities. In 2025, Hong Kong’s IPO market is booming, with geopolitical tensions driving more leading firms from the Chinese mainland to seek secondary listings in Hong Kong.In an exclusive interview with the 21st Century Business Herald, Bonnie Chan, CEO of HKEX, underscored the exchange’s readiness to accommodate mega-listings, categorically dismissing liquidity concerns. “The HKEX is absolutely confident in having these mainland giants," she said. "Quality enterprises attract capital naturally, and our market’s depth is proven."The numbers speak for themselves: Hong Kong’s average daily trading volume hit HK$242.3 billion in the first five months of 2025, double the 2024 figure.Last year, the market set a record HK$650 billion daily turnover, while 2025’s IPO proceeds of HK$773.46 billion in the first five months nearly matched 2024’s full-year total.Notable debuts include CATL’s H-share listing, which became the world’s largest IPO of the year, attracting top global investors like Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund.Market focus now centers on whether HKEX will relax dual-class share restrictions. Of 27 U.S.-listed Chinese firms with over $1 billion in market cap, 22 currently fail to meet the exchange’s ownership rules.Chan vowed more flexibility, stating HKEX reviews listing rules regularly "to serve the real economy," citing the "Technology Enterprises Channel" that has so far guided over 20 innovative firms through pre-listing processes.The A+H listing model is gaining steam, fueled by policy support. China has optimized overseas listing procedures, while a new rule allowing Greater Bay Area firms listed in Hong Kong to dual-list in Shenzhen (H+A) promises stronger cross-market synergy."Liquidity begets more liquidity," Chan noted, highlighting CATL’s listing as a case where Hong Kong and A-share markets boosted each other’s trading activity.Driven by economic resilience in the Chinese mainland and the intensifying trend of "de-dollarization" in the global market, Hong Kong has seen robust capital inflows. International placements for CATL’s H-share IPO accounted for 92.5 percent, with 23 global corner investors joining the offering."Investors are rediscovering Chinese assets as they reassess their portfolio," Chan said, emphasizing Hong Kong’s role as a gateway for global capital eyeing non-U.S. markets.At the opening ceremony of the 2025 Lujiazui Forum held in Shanghai on Wednesday, People's Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Pan Gongsheng introduced a package of financial reforms aimed at modernizing China's markets and enhancing global integration. These include improved interbank market monitoring, international expansion of the digital yuan, and further development of offshore finance, credit systems, and monetary policy tools. A digital yuan international operation center will be set up to advance the currency's global usage and facilitate development of digital currency innovation, the PBOC head said. The central bank is also working with regulators to explore yuan-based foreign exchange futures trading. It will also support Shanghai in piloting innovative structural monetary policy tools. GBA expressShanghai and Hong Kong inked a joint action plan on the occasion of the opening of the Lujiazui Forum today, aimed at promoting the coordinated development of the two financial hubs, enhancing their respective strengths and increasing China’s influence in the global financial system. The action plan outlines 38 measures across six main areas. These include better linking of their financial infrastructure, co-developing financial products and services, and strategically complementing each other in offshore finance. The two cities plan to keep improving cross-border investment channels such as the Bond Connect and Swap Connect. They will also explore new areas of cooperation such as cross-border clearing, interconnection of gold trading, new application scenarios for the digital yuan in cross-border payments, and helping Shanghai financial firms to expand into the reinsurance sector through Hong Kong.JD.Com will launch six innovative projects in the short term, including the issuance of stablecoins, according to the chairman of the Chinese e-commerce giant. JD aims to apply for stablecoin licenses in major global currencies to facilitate currency exchanges between enterprises, reduce cross-border payment costs by 90 percent, and shorten transborder payments to within 10 seconds, Richard Liu said at a media briefing yesterday, without disclosing any details about the other projects.A Juneyao Airlines jetliner with Legoland livery flew on its maiden flight to Guangzhou from Shanghai on Monday. The Airbus A321 craft operated by the Chinese airline also carries the theme in interior décor. The airline is promoting China's first Legoland theme park, due to open in Shanghai next month.Industry and company newsThe Chinese yuan has become the world’s second-largest trade financing currency, governor of the PBOC said today. On a full-scale basis, the yuan is now the third payment currency globally, holding the highest weighting in the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights currency basket.China National Chemical Engineering Group signed an agreement on the first coal-to-gas project in Kazakhstan with QazaqGaz Scientific and Technical Center at the China-Central Asia Summit in Astana yesterday. QazaqGaz operates Kazakhstan’s largest natural gas pipeline network, with an annual capacity of 255 billion cubic meters.Cainiao today launched a new budget L4 unmanned express vehicle, the GT-Lite, which has started pre-sales at only 16,800 yuan after time-limited discounts, Alibaba’s logistics arm said today. GT-Lite is designed for short-distance transportation between express delivery spots, with a cargo-carrying range of 100 km.China's online literature readership has swelled to 575 million, with those born after the year 2000 accounting for nearly a quarter of the total, according to a report released by the China Writers Association today. Around 2 million online literary works were added last year.As of yesterday, the Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway (Harbin-Dalian HSR), China’s first high-speed railway built for extreme cold, has safely handled more than 1 billion passenger trips, the railway’s operator said.The 2025 Summer Davos forum will be held from June 24 to 26 in China's northern Tianjin Municipality, with all preparations for the meeting finalized, the organizers said yesterday. The event expects around 1,800 participants from over 90 countries and regions.The Western Tramway Project, Colombia's first regional railway connecting the capital Bogotá with nearby satellite cities, broke ground on Tuesday (local time), Chinese infrastructure giant CCECC said on Wednesday. The project is also the first large-scale infrastructure project launched in Colombia since it joined the Belt and Road Initiative in May.Pop Mart’s inaugural global live‑stream on AliExpress today drew an audience of 240,000 from the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries, with more than 10 best-selling items, including the hugely popular Labubu dolls, sold out within seconds.Asia-Pacific highlightsChina and five Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan reaffirmed yesterday their firm support for each country's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity as well as the principles of sovereign equality and the inviolability of borders, Xinhua reported.China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System signed agreements with six foreign lenders to become direct participants of the Chinese payment system offering clearing and settlement services in yuan. CIPS will cover offshore yuan centers in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Singapore through foreign direct participants for the first time, further facilitating cross-border yuan use, CCTV reported.China plans to add 11 more freight train runs for the China-Laos Railway, China-Europe freight train service as well as China-Central Asia train service to ensure a stable international supply and industrial chain between Asia and Europe, the State Railway Group said Tuesday.