Exclusive | Firms from Middle East, Europe are eyeing Hong Kong IPO thanks to cross-border schemes: UBS

Name: SCMP
Telephone: +852-2680-8888

Companies from the Middle East, Asia and Europe are looking at Hong Kong, says the Swiss bank, after a push by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to promote the city’s fundraising credentials abroad

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

The bourse operator, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, has focused strongly on attracting international listings in recent years. Photo: Reuters

Enoch Yiu

Published: 12:04pm, 2 Jul 2024Updated: 2:46pm, 2 Jul 2024

Many international companies are keen to float their shares in Hong Kong as the cross-border trading links with mainland China make the city the “ideal IPO market”, according to UBS.

The Swiss bank’s optimistic tone comes after a dismal first half to the year that saw funds raised from new share listings in Hong Kong fall to a two-decade low.

“A number of our international corporate clients from Asia, the Middle East and Europe have expressed interest regarding a Hong Kong listing,” said John Lee Chen-kwok, vice-chairman and co-head of Asia country coverage at UBS in an interview.

“They consider Hong Kong an ideal IPO market after they learned that their shares listed in Hong Kong could be traded by mainland investors via the two Stock Connect schemes.

“Since UBS is an international bank with a global network, we are in an advantageous position to assist these companies to list and raise funds in Hong Kong.”

How Hong Kong became a leading hub for biotech growth

Since March last year the China Securities Regulatory Commission has allowed Hong Kong-listed international firms to be traded by mainland investors via the so-called southbound channel of the Stock Connect mechanisms. The schemes link the local stock market with those in Shanghai and Shenzhen for cross-border trading.