Securities industry professionals have struck an upbeat note on Hong Kong’s equities market, saying that IPO fundraising in the city this year is poised to surpass the strong performance in 2025, further cementing the city’s role as a leading hub for international capital.

“2025 was a banner year for Hong Kong’s initial public offering market, while this year we could potentially see an even larger pipeline,” said Xu Wenyan, executive director at UBS’s equity capital markets unit, at a forum hosted coinciding with the Top 100 Hong Kong Listed Companies Awards Ceremony on Friday.

“Barring any extreme black swan events, this year's fundraising volume may well reach new heights,” Xu added.

The special administrative region reclaimed its position as the world’s top venue for IPO fundraising in 2025, as 119 new listings raised a total of HK$285.8 billion ($36.7 billion) for the year, more than double the previous year’s amount. The stock market’s average daily turnover also reached HK$249.8 billion last year, jumping by 90 percent year-on-year.

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Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Joseph Chan Ho-lim, who also attended the event, said these figures reflected investors trust in both the stability of the HKSAR’s capital market and China’s economic growth prospects.

In a bid to consolidate the city’s competitive edge, Chan said the SAR government is stepping up efforts to enhance the market through mechanism upgrades, including further shortening the securities settlement cycle to one trading day.

The government will broaden the use of the renminbi in the securities sector, and plans to table amendments proposals to the Legislative Council in the first half of 2026 to allow investors to pay stamp duty in Chinese yuan for stock transactions conducted in the renminbi counter at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, according to Chan.

He added that Hong Kong will continue to deepen its connectivity with the Chinese mainland markets, actively “opens up new tracks” such as bulk commodities trading and international gold trading, while attracting more family offices and asset management institutions to set up operations in the city.

“These measures will strengthen Hong Kong’s roles as a ‘super connector’ and a ‘super value‑adder’, not only enhancing the market’s inclusiveness and appeal, but also offering investors a more diversified range of opportunities.”

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Liang Haiming, dean of the Belt and Road Research Institute at Hainan University, said Hong Kong needs to adopt the mindset of a “super partner”.

“Hong Kong must be more proactive in changing its mindset, and cannot just sit and wait for business to come,” he said.

Rather than simply “bringing mainland goods to Hong Kong to sell”, the SAR should take the initiative to solicit prospective enterprises’ capital, so as to drive the development of its securities market, Liang said.

He also suggested the city more actively integrate into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and tap the region’s potential.

The event was hosted by the Top 100 Hong Kong Listed Companies Research Centre, a non-profit academic insinuation imitated by politicians, business leaders and scholars from across the mainland and the HKSAR.

The center released its latest ranking of Hong Kong-listed companies on Friday, with tech giant Tencent topping the chart, followed by PetroChina, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Contact the writer at gabylin@chinadailyhk.com