How HKEX helps Southeast Asia’s companies access capital and navigate global markets
Hong Kong has become the overseas listing destination of choice for companies in the region, thanks to a diverse investor base and deep capital pools
As a world-leading listings hub, Hong Kong offers a unique opportunity for companies across Southeast Asia to leverage the city’s vibrant and diverse markets and access to Chinese investors.
Given the depth of the investor base and market liquidity, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is well-positioned to facilitate the needs of the region’s emerging companies, says Johnson Chui, managing director and head of global issuer services at HKEX.
“As companies mature and consider potential listing venues, HKEX is a natural choice,” Chui says. “It fulfils the needs of companies from all the markets in Southeast Asia because we have such a diverse international investor base and liquidity pool.”
With a strong funding landscape, exceptional access to mainland China and an outstanding IPO (initial public offering) track record, the city is one of the most popular listing destinations for businesses worldwide seeking to broaden their investor base.
Many of the region’s most innovative companies are doing just that.
Their ranks include J&T Global Express, an international logistics company founded in Indonesia, which completed HKEX’s second-biggest IPO of 2023 raising HK$3.9 billion, and Southeast Asian digital solutions platform Synagistics, whose listing in October 2024 marked the city’s first “de-SPAC” transaction.
And Southeast Asia’s thriving innovation ecosystem shows no sign of slowing.
“A very young, digitally savvy population is helping to make Southeast Asia a very dynamic region,” Chui says, adding that the energy level at promising new companies is similar to that of mainland China a few years ago.
This cyber-literate demographic is the primary mover behind the region’s rapidly expanding tech sector and the “phenomenal” growth of fintech. Indeed, Southeast Asia closed 633 deals in 2024 with total venture capital funding exceeding US$4.5 billion, according to a report produced by DealStreetAsia.
As a growing number of late-stage start-ups seek funding to go public, Hong Kong’s primary and secondary fundraising markets have become more attractive thanks to a host of innovative and robust market enhancements.
These include the bourse’s Stock Connect programme, which enables companies to tap onshore mainland Chinese capital. Southbound trading via the scheme represents about 20 per cent of HKEX’s average daily turnover.
In addition, since international issuers became eligible for inclusion into Stock Connect in 2023, Asean (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) companies can directly tap into the vibrant capital pool of Asia’s leading capital market, and through a primary listing in Hong Kong into China’s growing onshore capital pool.
“As China’s onshore capital continues to diversify globally, it can play an increasingly significant role in fuelling the growth of Asean companies that choose to list in Hong Kong through single or dual primary listings. These companies can also benefit from an increased presence and brand visibility in the China market,” Chui says.
Asean issuers can also benefit from the listing reforms HKEX introduced in 2018, including Chapter 18A for biotech companies; Chapter 8A, which permits listings of innovative companies with weighted voting rights structures; and Chapter 19C, which established a concessionary secondary listing route for companies that wish to secondary list in Hong Kong.
Further enhancements to listing rules include streamlining requirements for international companies and the introduction of Chapter 18B for SPAC listings in 2022, and Chapter 18C for specialist technology companies in 2023. These supplementary reforms have helped transform Hong Kong into one of the world’s leading new economy markets.
“The vibrancy of the Hong Kong market is testament to our continuous efforts in enhancing our market microstructure and diversifying our business,” says HKEX chief executive officer Bonnie Chan Yiting. “More recently, we’ve introduced several new initiatives to strengthen our adjacencies, including the planned inclusion of Reits to the Connect programme and the implementation of listing reforms that cater to new economy sectors.”
Spurred by the bourse’s 2018 listing reforms, which opened the door to a wide range of new economy and innovative high-growth companies, HKEX has evolved as a robust new economy investment and product ecosystem, and has become the world’s second-largest biotech fundraising hub.
More than 250 tech issuers have raised in excess of US$50 billion, while companies in the healthcare sector have raised more than US$36 billion since the introduction of the new listing regime in 2018. Meanwhile, HKEX currently lists more than 75 companies in the new energy sector including car, battery, mineral and renewable energy companies.
“There is an increasing and ongoing demand for access to global capital and supportive infrastructure to raise capital,” Chui says.
To further its appeal for Southeast Asia companies, in October last year HKEX announced a streamlined approval process for new listings, where issuers are offered no more than two rounds of regulatory review with a maximum vetting time of 40 business days. The enhanced application time frame provides more certainty over the IPO review process and allows for more efficient and effective timetable planning.
The bourse also continues to forge partnership opportunities with regional exchanges, including a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesia Stock Exchange, to further the development of robust capital markets through cross-listing and other initiatives.
Amid a cautiously optimistic economic environment, HKEX expects the IPO market for Southeast Asia companies to further strengthen in 2025.
“At HKEX, we are committed to providing issuers with a robust and dynamic platform for growth, connecting capital with opportunities,” Chan says. “Our commitment to fostering innovation and facilitating capital access ensures that Hong Kong continues to be a leading listing destination for companies globally.”