Cathy Zhang, head of Asia-Pacific equity capital markets at Morgan Stanley, sounded hoarse after a day of back-to-back meetings with companies keen to go public in Hong Kong.
“It’s very possible that the value and number may exceed last year’s IPO figures, given the momentum we have seen in January,” Zhang said in an interview on January 30.
Nearly 100 companies filed for stock offerings in the city last month, more than triple the same period in 2025, a year which saw Hong Kong crowned as the world’s top IPO venue. While that title was earned with 114 listings that raised US$37.2 billion over the whole year, more than 450 companies are already in the pipeline for 2026.
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“This year definitely has a stronger start. … [It] is the busiest ever when I compare it to the last 20 years in Hong Kong,” Zhang said. “The pipeline will be more diversified across different sectors compared with last year. Tech, healthcare and industrials are expected to be the three most active sectors.”
Many artificial intelligence and robotics companies were also coming to the market, including humanoid and traditional industrial robot makers, alongside firms in industrial automation and players in clean and new energy, according to Zhang.
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