8 more firms from Belt and Road Initiative countries apply for IPOs in Hong Kong

Eight more companies from countries involved in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative have applied to list in Hong Kong, the city’s trade promotion chief has said.

Fedrick Ma Si-hang, chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, also said on Monday that the city’s economy would benefit from improving China–US ties. The council has also raised its export forecast.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Youth Powerhouse Summit, Ma said interest in Hong Kong’s capital markets from Central Asia had surged after a high-level delegation led by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu visited the region in June.

“During my trip to Kazakhstan, their sovereign fund, which holds controlling stakes in many local companies, said it was interested in leveraging Hong Kong, an international financial centre, and its capital market to raise funds,” he said, while not disclosing the names or natures of the firms.

“According to my understanding, eight companies from countries under the Belt and Road Initiative had filed for initial public offerings to the Hong Kong stock exchange.”

More than 100 companies from Belt and Road Initiative countries are listed in Hong Kong, with a combined market capitalisation of more than HK$340 billion (US$43.3 billion).

Weeks after the delegation’s visit, which aimed to foster business ties between the region and Hong Kong, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the country’s national railway operator, filed for an IPO in the city.

Ma also said the Hong Kong economy would benefit from improving China–US relations after Chinese President Xi Jinping met his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Washington last month.

“Good relationship between US and China is going to help,” he said, citing the “quieted down” tariff concerns after Xi’s visit. Both sides have since scaled back duties imposed on each other.

“We [will] continue to do good business, particularly in the AI and semiconductor sector.”

Last month, the council raised its forecast for Hong Kong’s exports in 2026 to 42 to 47 per cent growth, up from its June prediction of “more than 20 per cent”.

The council attributed its optimism to “robust” and sustained demand for electronic products, driven by global growth in the artificial intelligence sector.