Key Takeaways:
- HK IPO fundraising reached $30.3B in H1 2026, on pace for a record year
- AI stocks dominated trading, fundraising, and gains, Goldman's Wang Yajun said
- More AI companies expected to list in Hong Kong in the second half
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Goldman says Hong Kong enters AI era as IPO fundraising hits $30.3B
Hong Kong's equity capital markets have entered the AI era, with IPO fundraising reaching $30.3 billion in the first half, Goldman Sachs' top ECM banker said.
"The most active trading, best-performing stocks and largest fundraising this year have all been AI-related," Wang Yajun, head of Asia (ex-Japan) equity capital markets at Goldman Sachs, said in a media briefing.
Chinese issuers raised $67 billion in total ECM proceeds in Hong Kong through July 7, according to Dealogic data cited by Goldman. That compares with $90.6 billion for all of 2025. IPO proceeds alone reached $30.3 billion, versus $36.6 billion last year. Goldman ranked first among Chinese and foreign investment banks for Chinese issuer ECM by bookrunner volume.
The divergence between record IPO activity and weak index performance — the Hang Seng Index fell 5.53 percent year to date while the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 15.22 percent — reflects a structural mismatch, Wang said. The benchmark indexes have not yet caught up with the market's AI-driven transformation.
Wang said AI companies' capital expenditure will continue to grow, supported by rising end-user demand for computing power, chips, storage and materials. "AI is a high-risk industry, and stock price volatility is normal," he said. "If there is no tolerance for volatility, it is difficult to cultivate excellent companies."
China has a complete industrial chain, and some of these companies will eventually list in Hong Kong, Wang said. More AI enterprises are expected to debut on the Hong Kong exchange or on Shanghai's STAR Market in the second half of 2026.
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission earlier this year issued a circular requiring the same lead sponsor to handle no more than six active projects simultaneously. Wang said the measure aims to improve the quality of Hong Kong IPOs and the overall market.
The record fundraising signals that Hong Kong is cementing its role as a primary listing venue for China's AI supply chain. Investors will watch the second-half IPO pipeline for new names in large language models, semiconductors and data infrastructure.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
