By 30 September, Hong Kong was handling almost 300 active IPO filings, a new record, KPMG reports.
Hong Kong is poised to retake its place as the world’s top IPO market by the end of 2025, helped by a record pipeline of companies preparing to list, according to KPMG’s Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong IPO Markets Q3 2025 Review.
The firm says the city had almost 300 active IPO filings as of 30 September, the highest level on record so far, and expects that momentum to push Hong Kong back to the top of global IPO rankings.
Back in the early 2010s, Hong Kong handled some of the largest IPOs in history. After a certain slowdown, in 2018-2019, HKEX again ranked among the world’s leading IPO venues by funds raised. However, for the last five years, the city faced an IPO decline. It came after 2019 and intensified through 2020–22 because of political unrest, the COVID shock, and a big regulatory crackdown on Chinese tech firms, combined with a global IPO slowdown when interest rates rose.
The resurgence in listings comes after a strong first three quarters for capital markets worldwide. KPMG’s review shows global IPO activity has picked up in 2025, and Hong Kong has been a major beneficiary as more large issuers choose the city to raise capital.
Several very large deals have already landed in Hong Kong this year. For example, battery maker CATL completed a high-profile H-share listing in May, raising roughly US$4.6–5.3 billion in what became one of the largest global IPOs of 2025. The deal helped draw international investor attention back to Hong Kong.
Another major listing was Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, which raised about HK$9.9 billion (US$1.2–1.3 billion) in the same month, making it one of Hong Kong’s largest healthcare IPOs in recent years. These billion-dollar offerings show the market is again able to absorb very large issuances.
More recently, a large mining spin-off, Zijin Gold International, debuted on the Hong Kong exchange and raised about HK$25 billion — a landmark transaction that became one of the biggest offerings in the city this year. That deal underlined Hong Kong’s appeal for big strategic listings and spin-offs.
Market participants and regulators have also moved to support listings. Changes to listing rules, measures aimed at attracting returning (or “homecoming”) issuers and a wave of A+H and dual listings have all helped broaden the pool of companies able and willing to list in Hong Kong. Those policy and structural shifts are cited by advisers as a factor behind the current pipeline.
For companies and investors, the immediate effect is a deeper market with more large transactions and greater liquidity. For Hong Kong, the forecast comeback would restore its role as a primary capital-raising centre for Chinese and regional firms, provided the pipeline converts into listings through the rest of 2025.
