At this forum, Sun Ming, Assistant Vice President of the Hong Kong Exchanges, shared a keynote speech titled "Hong Kong - The Preferred International Platform for Corporate Listing and Financing". The speech mainly focused on an overview of the Hong Kong IPO market, the listing rules and procedures of the Hong Kong Main Board, as well as the key strategies and reforms of the Hong Kong Exchanges.
Assistant Vice President of the Hong Kong Exchange, Mr. Sun Ming
Sun Ming introduced that Hong Kong has become the preferred international platform for corporate listing and financing due to its unique location, which is backed by China and connected to the global market, as well as its advanced capital market system. The Hong Kong IPO market has always been at the forefront globally, thanks to its unique positioning and advanced capital market system. Over the past 14 years, Hong Kong has ranked first in global IPO fundraising for seven years, and also placed high in other years. In 2018, Hong Kong implemented a reform of the listing system targeting the new economy, which significantly increased fundraising after 2018. Currently, more than 270 new economy companies have come to Hong Kong for listing, accounting for two-thirds of the total fundraising in the entire Hong Kong stock market. The addition of these new economy companies has greatly increased the activity of the Hong Kong secondary market.
In recent years, the traditional financial, real estate, and utility sectors have accounted for a decreasing proportion in Hong Kong's IPO market, while the proportion of industries such as information technology, consumer goods, and healthcare has gradually increased. This indicates that Hong Kong's capital market is attracting more enterprises from different industries to list, especially new economy companies, which can obtain more capital support and development opportunities by listing in Hong Kong. At the same time, Hong Kong's capital market system is well-established and its regulatory system is strict, providing investors with more choices and guarantees.
Since the beginning of this year, despite the complex and changeable macroeconomic situation, the Hong Kong stock market IPO market has still maintained a certain level of activity. From January to August, there were a total of 39 IPO projects in the Hong Kong stock market. Although this is slightly lower than the same period last year, with the introduction of new regulations for overseas listing filings and the acceleration of the filing process, it is expected that the issuance speed of Hong Kong stock market IPOs will also recover in the future.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a very mature capital market that has never stopped moving forward with reforms and innovations. Measures such as the launch of the interconnectivity mechanism in 2014, the reform of the listing system in 2018, the opening of the Hong Kong Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) last year, and the official launch of the 18C listing system for tech companies in March this year are all aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the Hong Kong capital market. These reform and innovation measures have not only attracted more investors to participate in the Hong Kong stock market but also provided more listing opportunities for new economy enterprises.
The launch of Chapter 18A has attracted 60 biotech companies that are not yet generating revenue to go public. These companies include not only those in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, but also many diversified healthcare industries. This indicates that the introduction of new listing chapters into the Hong Kong capital market often leads to very significant industry clustering effects.
Sun Ming stated that Hong Kong, as one of Asia's most internationalized capital markets, has been actively seeking breakthroughs in innovation and reform. For example, the interconnectivity mechanism introduced in 2014 allows domestic and foreign investors to buy each other's investment targets; the 2018 reform of the listing system added a listing chapter for biotech companies, companies with different voting rights structures, and second-tier listed companies; last year's introduction of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) and this year's 18C chapter for tech companies with special features are examples of Hong Kong's capital market continuously adapting to globalization trends.
Finally, Sun Ming concluded that Hong Kong has unique advantages as the preferred international platform for corporate listing and financing. Its unique location, backed by China and connected to the global market, as well as its advanced capital market system, place Hong Kong's IPO market at the forefront globally. In recent years, with industry changes and the rise of new economy enterprises, Hong Kong's capital market has also been undergoing reforms and innovations to adapt to market changes. In the future, with more new economy enterprises coming to list and further development of the capital market, Hong Kong's status as the preferred international platform for corporate listing and financing will become even more solid.
