Bonnie Chan, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX), stated in a radio program that HKEX has been continuously exploring ways to enhance fundraising in the primary market and daily turnover in the secondary market.
She noted that one important topic in aligning with the national "15th Five-Year Plan" is to consolidate and elevate Hong Kong's status as an international financial center, and HKEX plays a significant role in this effort and will spare no effort in contributing more. In Chan's view, global investors have refocused their attention on Asia, particularly the Chinese market, and believe they must invest in China. These investors seek diversified asset allocation rather than investing solely in equities, so Hong Kong needs to build a diversified asset ecosystem covering equities, fixed income and currencies, commodities, and other products.
On the primary market, Chan mentioned that Hong Kong's IPO fundraising returned to the top spot globally last year. In 2025, a total of 119 new companies listed, raising a total of HK$286.9 billion, up 226% year-on-year. She believes Hong Kong must continuously improve its listing framework, as national development has nurtured various types of enterprises with different financing needs. For example, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and new energy companies all require substantial resources for research and development. To this end, Hong Kong has in recent years created dedicated listing chapters for such companies, including Chapter 18A of the Listing Rules for biotechnology companies and Chapter 18C for specialist technology companies. She described the results as immediate and highly welcomed by the market. In 2025, a total of 21 companies listed under the Chapter 18 series.
On the secondary market, Chan said HKEX will continue to enhance stock market liquidity. HKEX has optimized board lot sizes in recent years and implemented trading spread reforms. The average daily turnover of the securities market rose from about HK$130 billion in 2024 to about HK$250 billion last year, and has further increased to over HK$280 billion so far this year, which she considers encouraging.
On commodities, Chan pointed out that HKEX recently relaunched USD-denominated gold futures, which she described as having received an enthusiastic response from investors, and said the launch of RMB-denominated gold futures is under consideration. Earlier this year, HKEX announced a waiver of market-wide trading fees for USD gold futures from July 6 to June 30, 2027, along with incentive programs for liquidity providers and active traders. This is Hong Kong's fourth launch of gold futures since 1980. A 2017 round simultaneously introduced offshore RMB and USD dual-currency contracts but failed to sustain due to thin trading.
In addition, Chan mentioned that the London Metal Exchange (LME) now has more than 10 approved warehouses in Hong Kong, but this is still insufficient. During LME Asia Week in May this year, she said LME warehouses in Hong Kong had increased to 15, a sharp rise from 4 a year earlier, with storage capacity nearing saturation.