Hong Kong’s IPO proceeds plunge to 2-decade low, pushing city down the global rankings

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Proceeds from new listings are down 35 per cent from a year ago and the lowest since the first half of 2003 when the Sars virus derailed the city’s markets

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Hong Kong fell four positions in the LSEG’s league table from this time last year, when it ranked ninth globally before ending the year in eighth position. Photo: Jelly Tse

Mia Castagnonein Shanghai

Published: 2:36pm, 28 Jun 2024Updated: 7:22pm, 28 Jun 2024

Funds raised from new share listings in Hong Kong dropped to a two-decade low in the first half of the year, pushing the city down several rungs to 13th place in a global ranking of initial public offering (IPO) markets.

Mainland China’s stock exchanges, the stars of the global IPO market a year ago, fared even worse, plummeting down the league table compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).

A total of 26 companies raised US$1.5 billion via IPOs on the main board of the Hong Kong stock exchange in the first six months of 2024, according to the LSEG data released on Friday.

The proceeds are 35 per cent lower than 2023’s first-half total and the lowest since the US$802 million raised in the first half of 2003 when the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) virus derailed the city’s markets. However, the funds raised in the second quarter were 40 per cent higher than in the first three months, suggesting things may be improving.

Global IPO proceeds declined 20 per cent to US$49 billion while the number of companies floating their stock dropped 18 per cent to 539, compared to the first half of last year. High interest rates and economic uncertainty depressed IPO fundraising, according to a report by KPMG earlier this month.

Hong Kong fell four positions in the LSEG’s league table from this time last year, when it ranked ninth globally before ending the year in eighth position.