Accounting firm, EY, on Wednesday forecast that Hong Kong's initial public offering (IPO) market would continue to be ranked second globally this year, after coming in second place in the first half of 2026.

In releasing its half-year report on global fundraising activities, EY estimated that 84 IPOs were expected in the SAR in the first half of this year, double the amount from the same period last year.

Total proceeds, meanwhile, were expected to reach HK$209.8 billion (US$26.8 billion), up 92 percent year on year, boosted by "hard tech" offerings from artificial intelligence language models, semiconductor and biotech firms .

The amount of proceeds raised in the SAR during the period marked its highest level in five years, though it was still overshadowed by the US$111.3 billion of proceeds recorded on the Nasdaq — following the record-breaking offering by SpaceX.

In an interview with RTHK, Jacky Lai, EY Hong Kong capital market services spokesperson, was still hopeful the SAR would maintain its current ranking in the coming months, despite the expected new mega listings by AI firms in the United States later in the year.

"While the global mega listings in the US or other markets are there, they tap into entirely different capital systems which will not [affect] Hong Kong's liquidity," he told RTHK.

"Hong Kong's primary market ... has a distinct liquidity pool backed by mainland capital channels that Western markets cannot replicate.

"The global asset allocators would also not abandon Asian expansion strategies to fund a US IPO. So we are cautiously optimistic about the outlook in the second half of the year," he added.

Other than the "hard-tech" sectors, which significantly contributed to local fundraising activities, companies from the consumer sector and emerging industries also showed increasing interest in listing on the stock market, he added.

The report also noted around a third of the world's IPO deals between January and June came from the mainland and Hong Kong, with proceeds from the two markets accounting for around 22 percent of the global total.

Eight of the 10 largest IPOs in Hong Kong, meanwhile, were from companies which went public both in the SAR and on the mainland under the so-called "A+H listings" regime.

Lai noted that "A+H listings" were becoming a "driving force" for the SAR's fundraising market, as many leading mainland-listed firms aimed to further diversify their equity components while attracting overseas investors.



Edited by Tony Sabine