Гонконг привлёк рекордные IPO за 5 лет — ажиотаж вокруг ИИ перевесил вялый рынок

Hong Kong's initial public offering market completed the first half of 2026 at a five-year high. Investor interest in companies in the artificial intelligence sphere proved strong enough to outweigh both the sluggishness of the broader stock market and accumulated regulatory obstacles.

Record Against a Backdrop of Turbulence

The volume of IPOs and secondary placements on the Hong Kong exchange in January–June 2026 exceeded comparable figures for any of the preceding five years. The last time a comparable result was recorded was in 2021, amid the technology boom following the pandemic — then too, investors were betting on the future rather than current multiples. History is repeating itself now, only the key theme has shifted from fintech or e-commerce to artificial intelligence.

Analysts cite global AI excitement as the main catalyst: investors worldwide are willing to accept elevated risks for an early position in companies tied to the technology supercycle. This is particularly striking against the backdrop of the overall state of markets — the Hang Seng index remained under pressure from trade restrictions between the US and China, slowing Chinese economic growth, and periodic regulatory initiatives from Beijing. Yet capital inflow into new placements did not dry up: the AI theme proved stronger than the usual signals of caution.

Why Hong Kong Specifically

Hong Kong historically serves as a gateway for Western and Middle Eastern capital seeking Chinese technology assets. In the context of an AI boom, this structural advantage of the platform has become even more pronounced. Several factors work in its favor:

• Major Chinese AI laboratories and startups are choosing Hong Kong over NASDAQ, where requirements for Chinese issuers have tightened
• The Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX) has consistently lowered barriers for technology companies without profits — the entry threshold for young AI companies has become noticeably lower
• Asian sovereign funds act as anchor investors in major placements, setting the tone for other participants and reducing perceived risk
• Investors from Gulf states view the Hong Kong market as a strategic entry point into the region's technology ecosystem
• American export restrictions against certain Chinese companies are effectively redirecting them to Hong Kong listing as a safer alternative

Oversubscription as the New Norm

Major placements in the first half of the year went through in a matter of days with order book oversubscription many times over. Investment banks recorded: it is enough for a company to convincingly position itself in the AI narrative — and the demand mechanics work by themselves. Business model quality and current profitability took a back seat to growth potential.

This creates a self-reinforcing effect. Successful placements attract new issuers eager to take advantage of the open window. Investment banks are stepping up activity on the Hong Kong front, seeing robust demand; several have already announced plans to strengthen their IPO divisions in the city.

For the market as a whole, this means the boom could continue into the second half of 2026 — unless sharp external shocks change sentiment.

"When market participants see an opportunity to catch the next technology cycle, they find a way to enter it regardless of the broader macro backdrop," — characterize the situation analysts tracking

Hong Kong placements.

What This Means

Record placements in Hong Kong are not an isolated phenomenon but a manifestation of global capital redistribution in favor of the technology sector. For AI companies considering going public, the window of opportunity is now wider than at any point in the last five years. Stock exchanges across Southeast Asia as a whole benefit from this trend — capital seeks new access points to the AI wave where there are fewer geopolitical barriers. For investors, this is another reminder: thematic excitement can rewrite risk assessment rules faster than even conservative analytical models can be updated.