Hong Kong Urged to Attract Global Champions as City Seeks to Broaden Its Fundraising Base

For decades, Hong Kong has served as the primary offshore fundraising hub for mainland Chinese enterprises, particularly state-owned banks, property developers, and technology firms. However, slower Chinese economic growth, regulatory tightening, and weaker equity market sentiment have reduced the volume and scale of new listings. At the same time, competition from other financial centers offering flexible listing rules, deeper tech-focused investor bases, and targeted incentives has intensified, putting pressure on Hong Kong’s traditional strengths.

The Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) has emphasized that attracting global industry leaders across sectors such as biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, green energy, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure is critical to sustaining Hong Kong’s relevance. These companies tend to require complex capital structures, long-term funding, and specialist investors, which would help diversify both the issuer base and the investor ecosystem. Expanding fundraising channels beyond IPOs to include secondary listings, dual-class shares, private capital access, and tokenized assets has also been highlighted as a priority.

Hong Kong’s regulatory framework has already undergone incremental reforms, including the introduction of special purpose acquisition companies, weighted voting rights, and streamlined approval processes for technology and biotech firms. However, market participants argue that regulatory flexibility alone is insufficient without a broader ecosystem that includes research coverage, institutional investor depth, and post-listing liquidity. Attracting global champions requires not only listing incentives but also a supportive environment for corporate governance, cross-border capital mobility, and long-term shareholder engagement.

The push to broaden the fundraising base also reflects Hong Kong’s ambition to position itself as a bridge between traditional finance and emerging financial technologies. Initiatives in virtual assets, tokenization, and digital settlement infrastructure are seen as potential differentiators that could attract international firms seeking regulated access to Asian capital markets. If Hong Kong succeeds in aligning policy reform, market innovation, and global outreach, it could evolve from a China-centric listing venue into a more balanced international fundraising hub. Failure to do so, however, risks gradual erosion of its competitive edge in an increasingly fragmented global financial landscape.