YICAI｜Chinese Brokers Are Sponsors for Bulk of Mainland Firms Seeking Hong Kong IPOs
(Yicai) March 13 -- Chinese securities companies have become the leading sponsors of initial public offerings by Chinese mainland firms in Hong Kong.
Citic Securities Brokerage HK, China Securities International Finance Holding, and China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities are among the Chinese brokers to have acted as the lead advisor and underwriter for nine of the 11 Hong Kong IPOs by mainland firms so far this year, according to data from Choice.
By contrast, the pace among foreign sponsors has been more measured, with Goldman Sachs Asia taking on three listings and UBS Securities Hong Kong two.
Mixue Group, China's largest bubble tea chain, and the 10 other mainland businesses to go public in Hong Kong since the start of 2025 have raised HKD12.8 billion (USD1.6 billion) between them, exceeding the HKD1.9 billion (USD240 million) mainland firms banked a year earlier.
Mainland IPO hopefuls favor Chinese securities companies for their attractive pricing and deep understanding of mainland businesses, a source at a Hong Kong brokerage told Yicai. Mainland firms also have established business ties with these brokerages, making them more likely to choose them as sponsors, the person added.
Of the 124 companies awaiting IPO approval on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, CICC Hong Kong Securities is sponsoring 46 and Citic Securities Brokerage HK 30. In addition, 44 of the 104 firms that have gone public in Hong Kong since the start of last year are registered in China, with 43 choosing domestic brokers as their sole or joint sponsors, according to Choice data.
As a result of the protracted underperformance of the Hong Kong IPO market in past years, a number of foreign brokers have scaled back their local operations and now favour big share offerings over those of small and medium-sized enterprises.
In 2022, among the top 10 underwriters of Hong Kong IPOs by scale, only CICC Hong Kong Securities and Huatai International Financial Holdings were Chinese, Choice's figures show. That increased to four last year, with the addition of Citic Securities Brokerage HK and China Securities.