[Capital Markets] LSEG: Hong Kong ECM financing volume in Q1 up over 26%, reaching a 5-year high; IPO fundraising temporarily ranks as the world's number one; M&A transactions the strongest in 10 years

This year’s first quarter performance in Hong Kong’s equity capital markets (ECM) set a 5-year high, with IPO fundraising more than 5-fold higher, and new share fundraising ranking first globally. According to data on Hong Kong ECM and M&A released by the LSEG Deals Intelligence team for the first quarter of 2026, during the period, Hong Kong ECM total financing amounted to $21.16 billion, up 26.4% year on year, marking the highest level for any first quarter since $37.5 billion in 2021, while the number of ECM issuances also increased 65.8% year on year.

For new listings, in the first quarter, the combined total of original IPOs and secondary listings on the Main Board and GEM in Hong Kong accounted for 63% of total ECM financing, raising $13.3 billion, up 5.3 times year on year, and setting the highest first-quarter record in five years. The combined total number of IPOs and secondary listings also hit an eight-year high, up 153.3% year on year. Among them, Chinese companies led the new listing activity, accounting for 99.9% of total financing, raising $13.26 billion. The financing amount was more than six times higher than the same period last year, and the number of issuances was also nearly three times higher.

The high-tech sector also accounted for 49.1% of the total value of Hong Kong IPOs and secondary listings. There were 15 new issuances raising $6.5 billion, whereas there were no related issuances in the same period last year.

Global IPO and secondary listing financing up 47.8% in the first quarter

Summarizing the global new share market, in the first quarter, global IPO and secondary listing financing totaled $40 billion, up 47.8% year on year. Hong Kong’s Main Board currently ranks first among global exchanges, with a market share of 33%, higher than Nasdaq’s 14.1% and the New York Stock Exchange’s 12.4%.

During the period, issuers from China and the United States accounted for 41.5% and 21% of total financing, respectively. Original IPO financing was $30.9 billion, up 16.5% year on year. Secondary listing financing was $9.2 billion, up by about 15 times compared with the same period last year, setting a historic start. However, the number of global IPOs decreased 19.6% year on year, while the number of global secondary listings increased by more than three times compared with last year.

In addition, total HK follow-on financing in the first quarter was $5.8 billion, down 58.5% year on year, though the number of follow-on offerings increased 44.8% compared with the first quarter of last year. Convertible bond financing was $2.1 billion, up by more than five times year on year.

High-tech industries remain at the forefront of Hong Kong ECM activity, with a market share of 36.0% and financing of $7.6 billion, significantly increasing compared with the first quarter of last year, mainly driven by semiconductor, software, and information technology-related issuances. The industrial and consumer staples sectors followed with market shares of 16.3% and 14.8%, respectively.

As for Morgan Stanley, it currently ranks first in Hong Kong’s listed ECM transaction underwriting league table, with a market share of 14.1% and related financing of $3.0 billion.

Total Hong Kong M&A deal value up 47% in the first quarter　sets a 10-year high

For Hong Kong M&A transactions, LSEG said the total value of M&A deals involving Hong Kong in the first quarter was $36.9 billion, up 47.2% year on year, and the highest first-quarter level in a decade. Among them, the energy and power industry dominated, with deal value of $21.7 billion, accounting for 58.7% of total deal value, up 89.5% from the same period last year. The materials industry ranked second with a 13.4% market share and $4.9 billion in deal value, at more than nine times the level of the same period last year. The media and entertainment industry ranked third with a 7.7% share, up 112.6% year on year.

Worth noting is that LSEG said French ENGIE SA agreed to acquire UK Power Networks for $21.3 billion from entities related to Jardine Matheson, the largest deal in the Hong Kong energy and power industry on record since 1980.

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