Hong Kong’s flourishing initial public offering (IPO) activities and securities market performance showcased its competitive edges as a top international financial centre, according to the Securities and Futures Commission’s (SFC) Quarterly Report for April to June 2025 published today.
During the first seven months of 2025, Hong Kong solidified its global leadership in IPOs, with 51 IPOs and total funds raised surging over 610% year-on-year to $128 billion. As of end-July, there were more than 220 IPO applications in the pipeline. To facilitate listings of specialist technology and biotech companies, the SFC and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited jointly announced the launch of the Technology Enterprises Channel and a confidential filing option in May.
Hong Kong’s securities market also showed hallmark resilience against extreme volatility in early April as the market maintained orderly and normal operations. With a strong rebound since then, the Hang Seng Index has reached its highest level in more than three years, and the market’s average daily turnover jumped 85% to $243.7 billion in the first seven months.
In another sign of a thriving market, the number of licence applications received by the SFC increased 16% year-on-year for the second quarter. The asset and wealth management sector also saw robust growth, with Hong Kong-domiciled funds notching solid year-on-year growth of 39% in assets under management (AUM) and continued inflows into money market funds last quarter. The number of open-ended fund companies climbed 56% from a year ago, while the average daily turnover of SFC-authorised exchange-traded funds (ETFs) surged 135.5% in the quarter (Note 1).
“With another quarter of solid performance, Hong Kong’s capital markets continue to build on the growth momentum from last year, including the strength of the asset and wealth management sector in both AUM and fund inflows,” said Ms Julia Leung, the SFC’s Chief Executive Officer. “As an enabler of capital market development, the SFC remains committed to deepening connectivity, driving innovation and bolstering diversification.”
In addition, the SFC forged closer ties with overseas markets, both mature and emerging, through various memoranda of understanding (MoU) last quarter. The MoU with the Central Bank of Ireland in May was followed by the first cross-listing in Hong Kong of an actively managed ETF with an Irish master ETF in July (Note 2). In addition, the SFC and Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority strengthened ties with a bilateral meeting in Hong Kong in June, as well as a co-hosted roundtable for asset managers to explore cooperation.
On digital assets, the number of SFC-authorised virtual asset (VA) spot ETFs grew from six to nine (Note 3). To further expand the VA product offerings, the SFC approved three VA spot ETFs to engage in staking with appropriate investor safeguards, becoming the first in Asia Pacific to do so. Moreover, as of end-July, the number of SFC-licensed virtual asset trading platforms had increased to 11 and the SFC had allowed 57 licensed corporations to provide VA dealing service. The SFC has also commenced a joint consultation with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) on legislative proposals to regulate VA dealers and custodians to complete the ecosystem (Note 4).
In parallel with facilitating development, the SFC continues to prioritise investor protection. Through a joint statement with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in August, the SFC cautioned the public against market speculation related to the stablecoin concept (Note 5). It also guided licensed corporations on preventing phishing and unauthorised trading last quarter, while supporting the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ (IOSCO) call for online platform providers to combat scams and fraud. It also joined IOSCO’s “Global Week of Action Against Unlawful Finfluencers” to disrupt illegal finfluencer activities (Note 6).
To uphold market integrity, the SFC conducted a joint operation with the Independent Commission Against Corruption in July, which resulted in the arrest of two former executives of a listed company suspected of manipulating its shares and engaging in corrupt activities.
The Quarterly Report is available on the SFC website.
Notes:
- The figure includes leveraged and inverse products.
- In May, the SFC also signed MoUs respectively with the Ontario Securities Commission, Canada, and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market.
- In July, the SFC authorised three new VA spot ETFs investing directly in Bitcoin and Ether, which were subsequently listed in July and August.
- In June, the SFC and the FSTB jointly launched the two consultations to extend Hong Kong’s efforts in fostering a globally competitive VA ecosystem. See the press release.
- See “Joint statement by the SFC and the HKMA on stablecoin-related market movements” for details.
- The SFC has commenced a thematic inspection to assess securities brokers’ compliance with regulatory requirements when engaging finfluencers and digital platforms to market financial products and services. Also, it has been cautioning the public against finfluencer-related pitfalls through its “Don't be Sucker” anti-scam publicity campaign.
