Accounting giant Deloitte on Wednesday said it estimated that Hong Kong's initial public offering (IPO) market in the first half of the year had come in second globally, with 78 new listings raising around HK$203.3 billion, almost double last year's amount.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile, claimed the crown after seeing 60 new listings raise HK$872.4 billion during the period, though Deloitte said the stand out performance by the US bourse was largely boosted by SpaceX which alone raised HK$675.8 billion.

The New York Stock Exchange was ranked third, with 31 new listings raising around HK$124.2 billion.

Euronext was ranked fourth and the Shanghai Shanghai Stock Exchange was placed fifth, raising around HK$41.2 billion and HK$34.7 billion, respectively.

Without SpaceX's IPO, Hong Kong's stock exchange could have "narrowly surpassed" the Nasdaq to top the world, according to Edward Au, southern region managing partner of Deloitte China.

Looking ahead, Au noted the firm remained "cautiously optimistic" regarding the city's IPO outlook in the second half of the year, saying the SAR still had a strong pipeline of around 600 applications as of May.

Among them, at least five companies would be able to raise over HK$10 billion, though that might be potentially overshadowed by another two mega AI company listings in the US later this year, he added.

"[But] we believe the listings of mega AI companies in the US would actually support the valuation in the market regarding how investors value AI companies, because if a mega, industry top-tier company gets listed, it will actually give more guidance on the valuations of similar firms no matter [whether they are] in the US or in China," he said.

Au also dismissed concerns about the trend leading to more capital flows from the SAR to the US, saying the average daily trading turnover on the city's stock exchange remained strong at nearly HK$300 billion in early June, up from around HK$290 billion in May.

"Going forward, although there are upcoming mega AI company listings in the US, or even the aerospace mega listing in the US this month, we actually didn't see any major capital outflows from Hong Kong to the US.

"I believe the mega listings in the US have actually stimulated [global] investors to look at the Hong Kong [market] to see whether there're any technology companies that have relatively lower valuation that they can invest in, so to reap the upside [returns] in the future," he said.

The accounting veteran also pointed to factors such as the potential easing of tensions in the Middle East that could raise investor appetite in riskier assets, including IPOs, after the US and Iran announced a deal to end the war.

Meanwhile the city's bourse operator is seeking to reform the listing regime, as part of efforts to attract more companies to list here.

Deloitte maintained its earlier forecast that the city's IPO market would remain among the top three in the world for 2026, with around 160 new listings raising at least HK$300 billion.

Deloitte's report came as six firms launched their Hong Kong offerings on Wednesday, seeking to raise as much as HK$19.8 billion combined, with Shenzhen-listed precision parts marker Lingyi iTech accounting for the largest deal, according to exchange filings.



Edited by Tony Sabine