More firms, including from S'pore, keen on listing in HK

Companies on Hong Kong exchange have raised $10.8b from 22 listings so far in 2025

- Kang Wan Chern

Initial public offerings (IPO) have rebounded in Hong Kong over the past year, with some Singapore companies even opting to list there instead of on their home exchange.

The shift follows a prolonged downturn in global IPO activity and comes as regional exchanges, including the Singapore Exchange (SGX), are stepping up efforts to attract listings and revitalise their equity markets.

Companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange have raised US$8.4 billion (S$10.8 billion) from 22 listings so far in 2025, said a bourse spokesperson, making the exchange the world's second-largest IPO fund-raising market in the year.

The bourse is reviewing around 150 IPO applications, while Deloitte expects 80 listings in Hong Kong in 2025, potentially raising about US$19 billion.

Singapore companies are among those expressing interest to list in Hong Kong.

One that has already taken the leap is biotechnology start-up Mirxes, which had previously considered listing in Singapore. Shares of the A*Star spin-off closed their first day of trading in Hong Kong on May 23 at HK$30, up 28 per cent from its listing price of HK$23.30, and giving the company a market valuation of more than US$1 billion.

A Mirxes spokesperson told The Straits Times that the firm chose to list in Hong Kong "because it has cultivated a strong ecosystem of investors who understand the biotech sector, including venture capital funds, private equity firms, cornerstone investors with healthcare expertise, and an increasing number of specialist biotech funds".

It also has a dedicated biotech listing regime, the spokesperson said.

IFBH, which operates in Thailand but is incorporated in Singapore, submitted preliminary offer documents in April for listing in Hong Kong.

The company, which bottles coconut water under the "If" brand in Bangkok, had initially submitted a notification to the SGX for a proposed IPO in March 2024, but opted to list in Hong Kong instead.