News Analysis
Chinese A-share companies have started listing in Switzerland, while the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) saw a record low funding in IPOs.
Hong Kong’s Weak IPO Market
According to its latest interim results (pdf), in the first half of 2022, the HKEX saw a 27 percent drop in profit and an 18 percent decline in revenue and other incomes compared to the same period last year. Its IPO fundraising plummeted from HK$211.7 billion (around $27.5 billion) to HK$19.7 billion (around $2.6 billion), dropping 91 percent year over year.
With its record weak market sentiment in the first half of 2022, HKEX has fallen out of the global top five in IPO fundraising. In the past 13 years, Hong Kong has been the world’s top IPO venue seven times, and its lowest global ranking was fourth in 2012 and 2021….