Hong Kong's capital markets saw a strong finish to 2025, as a wave of strategic innovation drove breakthroughs for the listing and digital asset markets, according to the Securities and Futures Commission's (SFC) Quarterly Report published today.

On the IPO front, Hong Kong became the world's top IPO venue last year, raising over $280 billion (Note 1). Notably, the new Technology Enterprises Channel (TECH), dedicated to technology listings, gave fresh momentum since its launch in May 2025, with a total of 119 IPO applications received from pre-profit biotech and specialist technology firms up to December. These consisted of 73 and 46 applications from pre-profit biotech and specialist technology companies, respectively. In the last quarter, the 10 IPOs of companies from these two sectors raised over $9 billion, up 800% year-on-year (YoY).

To gatekeep listing applications and further solidify Hong Kong’s position as a trusted fund-raising hub, the SFC issued a circular to IPO sponsors in January to raise concerns about deficiencies in listing documents and sponsor misconduct (Note 2). It is now reviewing the sponsors' submissions as required by the circular and will commence thematic inspections of sponsors in the near term.

On the digital asset front, Hong Kong’s emerging ecosystem continued to thrive. Newly introduced in 2025, SFC-authorised tokenised retail money market funds saw assets under management (AUM) grow steadily to $8.66 billion as of December, up 14% from a quarter ago (Note 3). For virtual asset (VA) spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – introduced in 2024 as Asia’s first – a total of 11 were listed in Hong Kong, with total market capitalisation surging 142% since launch to over $5.4 billion.

The asset and wealth management market extended its vibrant growth in 2025, driven by a fast-expanding ETF segment including leveraged and inverse (L&I) products. The total market capitalisation of SFC-authorised ETFs and L&I products jumped 33.7% YoY to $618.7 billion as of December. They also saw net inflows of $9.2 billion last quarter, while their share of Hong Kong’s market turnover stood at 14%.

In addition, Hong Kong-domiciled funds saw net inflows soar 118.5% YoY to $356.7 billion in 2025. As of December, their AUM surged 38.3% YoY to $2.28 trillion, and total number increased 9.1% YoY to 1,041.

“2025 represents a year of high-quality growth for Hong Kong as a premier international financial centre, as strategic innovation propelled robust capital formation, an accelerating digital ecosystem and a thriving asset management sector,” said Ms Julia Leung, Chief Executive Officer of the SFC. “Looking ahead, the SFC remains committed to future-proofing Hong Kong’s markets by driving responsible innovation, enhancing resilience, and strengthening investor trust.”

Other highlights:

a)    For Mainland-Hong Kong Stock Connect, the average daily southbound trading increased 151% YoY to $121.1 billion last year. This accounted for 24.2% of market turnover in Hong Kong, up from 18.3% in 2024. As of end-December, cumulative southbound net inflows reached more than $5.1 trillion since launch in 2014.

b)    In 2025, the SFC received 9,637 licence applications including 9,338 individuals and 299 corporations, a 17% increase from 2024 (Note 4). In the quarter, the SFC received 2,488 licence applications, up 27% YoY.

c)    On investor protection, the SFC secured the first custodial sentence against an unlicensed finfluencer for providing paid investment advice on social media last quarter.

d)    To further raise the public’s anti-scam awareness, the SFC broadened community outreach by hosting talks for university students and the elderly, as well as promotion at public estate shopping centres and the Police’s Anti-Crime Elite Games 2025 under its “Don’t be Sucker” (“咪做水魚” in Cantonese) campaign. Advertisements were also placed at high-traffic locations including MTR stations.

The Quarterly Report is available on the SFC website.

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