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Hong Kong companies raised a record US$47.5 billion through initial public offerings, share placements and block trades in the third quarter, as Chinese technology firms sought fresh capital for artificial intelligence expansion. The July-to-September total was the highest ever for those months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and reported October 4.
The quarter’s dealmaking pushed Hong Kong’s 2026 fundraising above US$92 billion, putting the city within reach of its annual record of US$112.5 billion, set in 2021. The surge continued despite weakness in local shares, while falling deal performance and rising bond yields have begun to make investors and issuers more cautious.
AI companies return to investors
Alibaba Group Holding’s US$10.2 billion follow-on share sale was the largest Hong Kong transaction of the quarter. Zhongji Innolight raised nearly US$8 billion in what the report described as the city’s largest listing in almost seven years.
Fundraising has also become more frequent for some AI businesses. Model developer Z.AI raised US$9.6 billion this year through an IPO, placements and convertible bonds. Rival model maker MiniMax and chip companies Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor and Shanghai Biren Technology also returned to investors in July, shortly after their IPO lockups expired.
Goldman Sachs Asia equity-capital-markets chief James Wang said companies in the sector were coming back to market sooner than in the past, sometimes only months after an earlier raise. He said he expected that pattern to continue as companies pursue AI-related capital needs.
Regional dealmaking broadens
Hong Kong’s activity was part of a wider Asia-Pacific upswing: regional share sales exceeded US$120 billion in the third quarter, the highest total for that period in six years, according to the Bloomberg data cited in the report. Mainland China contributed several large transactions, including memory-chip maker CXMT’s 66.6 billion yuan (US$9.9 billion) IPO, described as the country’s second-largest ever.
India also recorded a strong quarter, with share sales of US$26 billion since July, a record, despite pressure on its stock market. Major transactions included a US$3.2 billion government stake sale in insurer Life Insurance Corp and a US$2.4 billion IPO by National Stock Exchange of India, its second-largest listing, the report said.
The fundraising backdrop in Hong Kong had strengthened before the summer’s record. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing reported that 40 companies listed in the first quarter of 2026, raising US$110.4 billion. It said the amount was nearly six times the Q1 2025 total and the strongest first quarter since 2021, with 431 active IPO applications at March 31.
Market weakness clouds the outlook
The latest fundraising record stands in contrast to signs of strain in markets. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index fell as much as 7% in July as investors questioned whether substantial AI spending would produce adequate returns, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech Index had been trending lower this year, according to the report.
Only two of Hong Kong’s 10 largest deals since the start of July were trading above their offer prices at the time of reporting. Several recent listings, including fast-fashion retailer Shein Global and chipmaker Longsys Electronics, also traded down on their first day. The report said higher bond yields and expectations of further Federal Reserve rate increases were tightening financial conditions.
HSBC equity-capital-markets executive Martin Zoll said weak post-offer trading can weigh on appetite for new deals and could make investors more selective toward year-end. Goldman’s Wang likewise said a large pipeline of prospective offerings would still have to compete for investor demand.
More offerings are expected, but timing is uncertain
Potential transactions remained in the pipeline across the region. Bloomberg reported that India’s Jio Platforms was meeting investors ahead of an expected November debut, which could rank among the country’s largest IPOs. The Philippines’ Mynt, owner of mobile payments app GCash, had priced an offering expected to be the largest IPO in that market, while Australian data-centre operator Firmus Grid was preparing a US$5 billion IPO.
Those prospective deals were not guarantees of completed fundraising. The reporting pointed to continued issuance alongside deteriorating market conditions and uneven returns for recent investors, but did not establish which planned offerings would proceed or how much they would ultimately raise. For Hong Kong, the summer’s record therefore marks both a powerful wave of AI-linked capital demand and a market where new deals may face closer scrutiny.
