Hong Kong IPOs ride China’s tech wave, but Nasdaq leads way with SpaceX tsunami

Hong Kong has surrendered its IPO fundraising crown to Nasdaq following SpaceX’s blockbuster listing earlier this month, but it did so while seeing its IPO proceeds register a year-on-year rise of about 84 per cent in the first half of 2026 – consolidating the region’s position as a primary offshore financial hub for Chinese issuers.

“The A-to-H trend is a powerful new driver,” said Jacky Leung, co-chief operating officer of the technology, media and telecoms group in Asia ex-Japan at Goldman Sachs. “A to H” refers to mainland China’s A-share companies issuing additional shares in Hong Kong.

Chinese issuers dominated Hong Kong’s new listings during the first half, accounting for 98.5 per cent of total IPO proceeds. Technology companies led the expansion, representing 53.1 per cent of IPO proceeds across 31 deals – a significant rise from just five in the same period last year, LSEG Data & Analytics showed.

“The US and Hong Kong remain the two most active capital markets venues in 2026, each serving one of the world’s two largest economies and both riding the global AI wave,” Leung said.

Nasdaq ranked first globally, with total IPO proceeds of US$112.42 billion, thanks largely to SpaceX’s US$75 billion listing in June – the biggest public listing ever by the Elon Musk-led aerospace company. The New York Stock Exchange ranked third with US$14.73 billion, according to the data.