Hong Kong listings rush gathers pace with five companies seeking $678 million

March 20 : Hong Kong's new listings pipeline extended its streak, with five offerings seeking up to HK$5.31 billion ($677.91 million) in total launched on Friday, according to exchange filings. The flurry of launches, despite a darkening global economic picture due to the war in the Middle East, builds on a buoyant start to 2026 for Hong Kong's listings market, which has recorded its strongest start to a year since 2021. Initial public offerings and second listings raised about $5.5 billion in January, the highest since $7.6 billion in January 2021, LSEG data showed earlier in February. Fueled by mainland Chinese share sales, Hong Kong ranked as the world's top listing venue in 2025, with total equity capital market fundraising jumping 164 per cent to $103 billion, according to exchange data. Last week, Hong Kong's stock exchange proposed lowering market value thresholds for companies seeking dual-class share structures, a move that could further fuel the city’s share sale boom. On Friday, Epiworld International, a Xiamen-based semiconductor materials player focused on silicon carbide epitaxial wafers for power devices in electric vehicles and renewable energy, was looking to raise the most funds among the five. The company aims to raise HK$1.64 billion through the offering of 21.5 million H shares priced at HK$76.26 each, according to its filing. Separately, Guangdong Huayan Robotics, a maker of collaborative robots used in industrial automation and healthcare, aims to raise HK$1.37 billion by offering 80.8 million H shares at HK$17 each, according to an exchange filing. Medical technology firm Hangzhou Diagens Biotechnology, which develops AI-driven medical imaging software and equipment, plans to raise up to HK$899.9 million by offering 8 million H shares at a maximum price of HK$112.5 each, as per another filing. Beijing Tong Ren Tang Healthcare Investment, in a separate filing, said it looks to raise up to HK$897.7 million by offering 108.2 million H shares priced at a maximum of HK$8.30 each. The company is a unit of state-owned Tong Ren Tang group that invests in and operates traditional Chinese medicine hospitals. Artificial intelligence company Shandong Extreme Vision Technology plans to raise HK$499.2 million by offering 12.5 million H shares at a price of HK$40 apiece, as per a filing. ($1 = 7.8329 Hong Kong dollars)