Bonnie Y Chan, Chief Executive Officer said:
“HKEX delivered a strong start to 2026 with revenue and profit both reaching record highs in the first quarter of 2026, as global capital continued to seek safe havens and access to Asian growth opportunities in a volatile macro environment. Hong Kong’s primary market momentum remained robust, with the city maintaining its position as the world’s leading IPO venue and a pipeline of high-quality companies continuing to underscore our role as a leading fundraising platform for companies across innovative and growth sectors.
Secondary market activity rose further from a very strong 2025, with 20 trading days where trading turnover exceeded $300 billion during the first quarter of 2026. This reflected strong participation from both Chinese Mainland and international investors, helping also to drive robust Southbound and Northbound Stock Connect activity respectively, with Northbound ADT reaching a fresh quarterly record.
Beyond equities, our diversified multi-asset platform continued to perform strongly. The LME saw record chargeable trading volumes for the quarter, reflecting active participation across global metals markets, while OTC Clear achieved a record quarter in clearing volume as Swap Connect maintained its growth momentum. Our data and connectivity businesses also continued to support market activity, reinforcing the resilience and scalability of our market infrastructure.
Alongside this strong business performance, we continued to advance strategic initiatives that enhance market quality, strengthen infrastructure and expand choice for investors and issuers. These ranged from the next phase of minimum spreads reduction and broader market structure enhancements to consultations aimed at keeping Hong Kong’s listing framework competitive, and new product and index launches that broaden our ecosystem. Looking ahead, we will continue to deepen regional connectivity, broaden participation and invest in building a resilient, innovative multi-asset ecosystem, ensuring our markets remain well positioned to capture opportunities across market cycles.”
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