Hong Kong fourth among biggest IPO markets globally, as Shanghai’s Star Market takes top spot and Singapore fails to make the cut

Hong Kong clawed its way back to fourth spot among the world’s largest fundraising destinations for the first nine months of the year, Refinitiv data shows, following the return of initial public offerings (IPOs) to the city’s main board in the third quarter, which kept it ahead of the German market despite Porsche’s recent US$7.85 billion stock sale.

The city improved upon a 10th-place ranking in June after bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s (HKEX) main board saw 47 IPOs raise US$8.8 billion in the first nine months.

Hong Kong ranked behind mainland Chinese exchanges Star Market and ChiNext. Shanghai-based Star Market ranked top with 93 companies raising US$25.26 billion in the first nine months, while Shenzhen-based ChiNext in second place saw 117 companies raise a total of US$20.54 billion.

“Hong Kong’s IPO market became more active in the third quarter due to blockbuster listings by mainland Chinese companies such as China Tourism Group Duty Free,” said John Lee Chen-kwok, the Hong Kong-based vice-chairman and head of Greater China global banking at UBS. “We expect more IPOs will come to the market, assuming the market stabilises in the fourth quarter.”