Hong Kong exchange posts record profit as equity turnover doubles, listings rebound
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The exchange said it saw a robust listing pipeline, with more than 400 active applications.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
HONG KONG – Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), the city’s bourse operator, posted record full-year profit on Feb 26 as global investors turned to Chinese assets amid global economic uncertainty.
The exchange said net profit rose 36 per cent to HK$17.7 billion (S$2.9 billion) in 2025 from HK$13.1 billion in 2024, in line with estimates from 11 analysts compiled by LSEG.
The result underscores Hong Kong’s advantage over other listing venues as a preferred venue for Chinese companies to raise capital offshore, even at a time of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The exchange said it saw a robust listing pipeline, with more than 400 active applications.
Trading activity shot up 93 per cent in 2025 from a year earlier. Trading volume under the southbound Stock Connect scheme surged 151 per cent in 2025 as mainland investors increased allocations to Hong Kong-listed shares.
HKEX chief executive Bonnie Chan said she expects volatility to persist amid the prevailing macro landscape in 2026.
“We also see cause for optimism in capital markets as global investors adjust to the ongoing uncertainty of an increasingly multipolar world by seeking diversification and risk management opportunities in Asian, and specifically Chinese, assets,” she said in a statement.
HKEX said it would pay a second interim dividend payment of HK$6.52 per share. REUTERS
