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BusinessBanking & Finance

Hong Kong’s IPO market set for slow recovery, with 2023 fundraising seen surpassing 2022 but falling well short of 2021

  • PwC Hong Kong estimates that around 100 companies will list in Hong Kong in 2023, with total funds raised as high as US$21.7 billion
  • Mainland China’s exchanges expected to lead the world in IPOs again this year, PwC predicts

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A pedestrian passes by the electronic screen of the Hong Kong stock exchange in Hong Kong on June 6, 2023. Photo: AP
Mia Castagnone
Hong Kong’s sluggish initial public offering (IPO) market will see a slow recovery in the second half of the year, according to a PwC forecast, as interest-rate increases draw to a close, capital markets stabilise and more companies pursue spin-offs.

PwC Hong Kong estimates that around 100 companies will list in Hong Kong in 2023, with total funds raised between HK$150 billion and HK$170 billion (US$19.1 billion and US$21.7 billion).

Hong Kong saw 30 IPOs in the first six months of 2023, an increase of 11 per cent compared to the first half of 2022. But funds raised dropped by 14 per cent to HK$17 billion compared with HK$19.7 billion in 2022’s first half, PwC said.

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“The full resumption of travel between Hong Kong and Mainland China helped capital markets to rebound,” said Benson Wong, entrepreneur group leader at PwC Hong Kong. “However, strengthening inflation prompted many countries to raise interest rates, which has affected investor sentiment.”

Executives pose at the listing ceremony for CALB, a Chinese battery supplier for electric cars, at the Hong Kong stock exchange in Hong Kong on October 6, 2022. Photo: Bloomberg
Executives pose at the listing ceremony for CALB, a Chinese battery supplier for electric cars, at the Hong Kong stock exchange in Hong Kong on October 6, 2022. Photo: Bloomberg
Hong Kong clawed its way back to third spot among the world’s largest fundraising destinations in 2022, as 75 IPOs brought the year’s total funds raised to US$12.69 billion. But that represented a 70.5 per cent drop compared to the US$42.96 billion raised in 2021, Refinitiv data showed.
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