A better year expected for IPO bankers as Hong Kong claws its way back into top 10 markets

Companies and investors raised US$11 billion from 64 first-time stock offerings on the main board, according to data compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group, making it the fifth busiest IPO venue. India’s two main exchanges and US bourses Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) topped the league table.

Tokyo, Saudi Exchange, Abu Dhabi, Madrid and the ChiNext board in Shenzhen completed the top 10 venues.

Proceeds from Hong Kong IPOs surged 87 per cent from a year earlier, boosted by Midea Group’s HK$35.6 billion (US$4.6 billion) deal in September, the world’s second largest IPO in 2024. US real estate firm Lineage’s US$5.1 billion Nasdaq IPO and Hyundai Motor India’s US$3.3 billion rounded out the top three offerings.

It’s been a “satisfactory” year, said Louis Wong, the executive director of Phillip Capital Management. “The IPO market will continue to fare well next year with policy support from [mainland Chinese regulators] and an easier interest-rate regime.”

IPO bankers will look back at 2024 with relief, after plodding on with smallish deals through the halfway mark when it ranked 13th, a two-decade low. By the end of today, however, the local stock exchange would have completed its first positive year since 2019 in terms of proceeds raised.