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Hong Kong will attract listings by international companies, not just Chinese firms, as Greater Bay Area opens up, outgoing IPO panel chief says

  • City a natural base for listings by Greater Bay Area companies looking to internationalise brand and reputation, Andrew Weir says
  • National Security Law will not significantly hurt Hong Kong’s capital market

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International companies come ‘for access to a deep pool of capital and market expertise, and Hong Kong’s proven track record’, Weir says. Photo: AP
Enoch Yiu
Hong Kong will continue to attract listings by international and Asian companies in the coming years, as the 2018 reforms and a soon to be launched wealth management connect scheme increase access to and capital flows from the Greater Bay Area, said Andrew Weir, who steps down as chairman of the Listing Committee this week.
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The 28-member committee acts as an independent administrative decision maker and an advisory body for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the local bourse operator. Weir, 55, regional senior partner of Hong Kong and vice-chairman, China at accounting firm KPMG, is retiring after serving a maximum six years with the committee, three of them as chairman.

Weir maintained a positive outlook despite the fact that Hong Kong was facing its worst economic slump in decades, as well as Beijing’s National Security Law for the city, which has sparked concern about Hong Kong’s future as an international financial centre.

“The future of Hong Kong’s stock market is not only to act as a fundraising hub for Chinese companies, but it will also attract international companies, including those from the Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] countries,” he said in an interview.

“They come for access to a deep pool of capital and market expertise, and Hong Kong’s proven track record. The stock and bond connect schemes and the introduction of the wealth management connect under the Greater Bay Area project – all are positive in bringing major capital inflows to the market.”
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Andrew Weir retires as chairman of the Listing Committee this week. He is regional senior partner of Hong Kong and vice-chairman, China at accounting firm KPMG. Photo: Sam Tsang
Andrew Weir retires as chairman of the Listing Committee this week. He is regional senior partner of Hong Kong and vice-chairman, China at accounting firm KPMG. Photo: Sam Tsang
About 80 companies from Asean countries have launched initial public offerings in Hong Kong since 2010, raising US$2.85 billion, according to Refinitiv data. The city has been the world’s largest IPO market seventh times over the past 11 years, but in the first half of this year, it was behind Shanghai and Nasdaq.
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