BYD, Xiaomi and Other Chinese Companies’ Stock Prices Rebound, Driving Surge in Hong Kong Stock Market Sales
Hong Kong has overtaken India this year to become the world’s second-largest stock sales market (IPO). While the United States still ranks first, the ongoing market turmoil caused by President Trump’s tariff threats has weakened investors’ risk appetite, resulting in half of the current stock prices among this year’s top 10 largest IPOs being below their issuance prices.
Hong Kong Returns to the IPO Runner-Up Position After 2021
Data compiled by Bloomberg shows that Hong Kong’s IPOs, block sales, and stock placements in the first quarter surged 11-fold compared to the same period last year, reaching over $16 billion, second only to the United States. The Indian market has seen a nearly halved trading volume due to a sharp decline in its stock market, dropping to $6.9 billion, below Japan and the UK. Hong Kong last ranked second in the second quarter of 2021.
Chinese companies are currently seizing the opportunity presented by the rising stock market. With the emergence of DeepSeek reigniting global enthusiasm for China’s tech industry, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has become one of the best-performing indices worldwide this year.
Continuous Hong Kong IPOs, Hot Money Flows into BYD, Xiaomi, and Mixue Ice City
After years of trading drought, Hong Kong has regained its status as Asia’s most prosperous financial center thanks to its vibrant stock market. In March alone, electric vehicle giant BYD and smartphone electric vehicle manufacturer Xiaomi raised over $11 billion combined, setting a record for the largest stock issuance in Hong Kong in years.
In addition to tech stocks, the recent IPO of Chinese bubble tea producer Mixue Group has been so popular that retail investors attempted to borrow a record HKD 1.8 trillion (approximately $231 billion) to buy the stock, which is over 5,000 times the issuance price, forcing Hong Kong regulators to take measures to curb this frenzy.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has also recently received approval from Chinese securities regulators to plan an IPO in Hong Kong. This listing is expected to raise at least $5 billion, making it the largest IPO activity in Hong Kong in nearly four years.
US Tariff War Weakens Investors’ Risk Appetite, Poor IPO Performance
In the United States, the stock sales revenue in the first quarter declined by 10% to approximately $50 billion due to ongoing market turmoil and weakened investors’ risk appetite caused by President Trump’s tariff threats. Some prominent IPOs have failed, with half of the current stock prices among this year’s top 10 largest IPOs below their issuance prices.
The IPO of AI cloud computing infrastructure provider CoreWeave fell short of expected issuance prices and amounts, striking a blow to the US market. The company sold shares to investors at the end of its first day of trading for only $1.5 billion, whereas weeks earlier, the target was $4 billion.
(The mysterious Ethereum mining company turns into Nvidia’s AI cloud partner, CoreWeave (CRWV) will IPO on NASDAQ)
The unstable performance and grim environment have forced companies to reconsider entering the public market. Genesys Cloud Services, backed by Permira and Hellman & Friedman, has postponed its IPO plans. The startup financial trading platform eToro has once again challenged US stock listings, submitting its IPO application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 25, targeting a valuation of up to $5 billion.
(eToro officially applies for US IPO! Targeting a valuation of up to $5 billion, Goldman Sachs and UBS serve as lead underwriters)
Many crypto companies, initially eager to apply for listings this year due to anticipated regulatory loosening under the Trump administration, such as stablecoin issuer Circle, exchanges BitGo, Gemini, and Bullish, have seen their investor confidence eroded amid recent market turmoil triggered by the tariff war. The stock market has declined, and capital has flowed out of the US, raising concerns that the original IPO boom may fade in the US.
Risk Warning
Investing in cryptocurrencies carries a high degree of risk, and prices can be highly volatile, potentially resulting in the loss of your entire principal. Please assess risks carefully.