By Yantoultra Ngui and Jiaxing Li
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Six Chinese companies made their Hong Kong debuts on Tuesday after raising about HK$6.99 billion ($900 million), with most rallying
above their IPO prices to round off a resurgent year for listings as the city dominated Asian equity capital markets.
The strong starts signal renewed investor confidence and optimism around tech-driven growth, underpinned by regulatory changes and robust liquidity. Market participants said the momentum could set the tone for 2026 as Hong Kong reasserts itself as a key listing venue.
About $75 billion was raised through equity offerings in Hong Kong in 2025, including IPOs and follow-on share sales, more than triple the 2024 tally and the highest since 2021, according to LSEG data.
All but one of the debutants started trading above their IPO prices and largely held those gains through the session with no drastic swings.
"This year's actually been the best we've had since Ant's IPO got pulled," said George Au, deputy sales director at Phillip Securities, adding that a margin loan boom, successful debutants like Mixue and CATL, and the allocation rule changes in August that limited retail frenzy, have all helped boost sentiment.
InSilico Medicine Cayman TopCo, a generative-AI drug discovery firm, opened about 45% higher.
Beijing 51WORLD Digital Twin Technology, a software company, started nearly 15% higher, and USAS Building System, an industrial steel-structure maker, climbed more than 15% at the opening, while Shanghai Forest Cabin Cosmetics Group, a premium skincare brand, rose about 9%.
Shenzhen Xunce Technology and OneRobotics opened flat.
"The market atmosphere is still pretty decent heading into year-end. I don't think we're seeing any real cool winds or that people don't want to get in. If anything, investors are just being a bit more careful, more rational about it," Au said.
The next one to watch out for will be Shanghai Biren Technology, which will debut on January 2 and whose performance might set the tone for 2026, he added.
NEW IPO LAUNCHES Three Chinese firms launched Hong Kong share sales on Tuesday, adding more than HK$9 billion to the city's IPO pipeline. Knowledge Atlas Technology Joint Stock Co, or Zhipu AI, is marketing 37.42 million H-shares at HK$116.20 apiece to raise HK$4.35 billion. Chipmaker Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor is offering 25.4 million shares at HK$144.60 for proceeds of HK$3.67 billion, while surgical robotics maker Shenzhen Edge Medical plans to sell 27.72 million shares at HK$43.24 each to raise about HK$1.2 billion. All three are scheduled to debut on Jan. 8. The six debuts and three new launches highlight Hong Kong's resurgence as an IPO hub. With more than 300 companies filing to list, the momentum is set to carry into 2026. In addition to Biren Technology's debut early next year, AI player MiniMax Group remains in the pipeline.
($1 = 7.7736 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore and Jiaxing Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Neil Fullick and Shri Navaratnam)
