Hong Kong exchange reports record profits as listings rocket
Hong Kong’s stock exchange operator has posted a second consecutive year of record profits, after the city became one of the top listing destinations globally, following a slump.
Net profit rose 36 per cent to HK$17.8bn (£1.7bn) in 2025, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing confirmed.
Core business revenues, which include fees from trading and clearing rose 32 per cent to HK$27.1bn, reflecting the city’s rebound as it becomes a hub for both IPOs and trading following its 2023 slump.
The stock exchange saw just 73 listings over the course of the year, but recovered to become the second most active IPO destination in 2025, coming in behind the US.
The uptick has continued into this year, with more capital raised from Hong Kong listings in the first two weeks of 2026, than in London for the whole of 2025.
Listing boom
The rebounding performance is a shot in the arm for chief executive Bonnie Chan, who took over from Argentine investment banker Nicolas Aguzin in 2024.
The former Davis Polk capital markets partner stepped into the role with a mandate to revitalise the sluggish exchange, which was suffering from a weak post-pandemic recovery and surging competition from mainland China.
In 2025, the exchange saw 119 listings, bringing in a total HK$287bn, a 200 per cent year on year increase.
The exchange also boasts a robust pipeline, with over 400 companies filing to list on the market.
In a statement following the exchange’s results, Chan said: “Global investors returned with conviction, innovation from the Chinese mainland and across Asia kept our markets vibrant, liquidity deepened, pipelines strengthened and the capital connected with opportunities.”
Average daily turnover for the full year rose 90 per cent to HK$250bn, signalling a growing number of traders and investors ploughing capital into Hong Kong listed stocks.
Fixed income and derivatives
Chan also noted that while the stock market performed strongly, it was not dependent solely on IPOs as it expanded its product offerings across fixed income and derivatives.
She said: “We are developing a multi-asset eco system which, with global investors increasingly seeking diversification opportunities, will be key to reinforcing the resilience and competitiveness of Hong Kong.”
HKEX said last year that it would take a 20 per cent stake in CMU Omniclear, which is building a settlement house to compete against Belgium’s Euroclear.
The HKEX-owned London Metal Exchange also approved Hong Kong as an official warehouse location, aiding the territory’s aim of becoming a commodities hub linking China’s metal market with the rest of the world.
But, the market also benefited from tense US-China relations which sent mainland companies scrambling to list in the territory, as well as an easing of regulatory requirements from Beijing for fundraising.