Chinese tech companies are choosing Hong Kong over the US for capital raises

Chinese tech companies are raising money in Hong Kong instead of the US, and according to a Goldman Sachs executive, that’s not changing anytime soon.

Jacky Leung runs Goldman’s Hong Kong operations and co-heads their tech, media and telecom business across Asia (minus Japan). He says the shift makes sense, better market access, recent regulatory changes, and Hong Kong’s just closer to where these companies actually operate.

Hong Kong’s still the main gateway for Chinese companies looking for offshore capital and international expansion, Leung said. He expects that to continue.

Western investors are back. US and European funds have been piling money into Chinese stocks again. Their holdings have climbed back to high single-digit percentages, getting closer to the 13 percent peak from 2021.

“They are making money out of their investments, suggesting a healthy capital market,” he said as mentioned in SCMP.

The market’s reflected that confidence. The MSCI China Index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index are both up over 30 percent this year.

“That shift has been supporting the market rally, and we are still seeing the inflow of capital coming in, supporting the case for a sustainable market rally,” Leung said.

Middle Eastern investors are getting interested too. Last month Qatar sent people to Goldman’s first Asia Leaders’ Conference in Hong Kong. The event pulled in 2,000 people, including executives from Tencent Holdings, Baidu and Xiaomi.

Alibaba, Horizon robotics lead billion-dollar deals

This is all happening while US-China trade tensions continue. And it comes after the DeepSeek moment, when that Hangzhou startup surprised everyone with an affordable AI system that showed off China’s tech capabilities and government support.

“The US-China dynamic will not go away overnight, and Hong Kong will continue to serve as a gateway for China to springboard into the rest of the world,” Leung said.

Big tech companies prefer Hong Kong for listings and fundraising because of the trading volume. Smaller and medium-sized firms keep their options open depending on what’s happening politically between the US and China.

Look at the recent deals. Last month Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the Post, raised about $3.2 billion through a convertible bond offering in Hong Kong. Biggest deal of its kind this year. That followed a $1.5 billion exchangeable bond deal in July, also in Hong Kong. As reported by Cryptopolitan Alibaba’s stock has been surging amid strong AI revenue growth.

Horizon Robotics, the AI chip company for self-driving cars, did an $815 million share placement in Hong Kong last month. Their second funding round like that in three months.

Hong Kong now rivals US in trading volume

Companies need to stay flexible about where they raise money, Leung said. But Hong Kong now matches the US in market features and trading volume. The US has always been where most tech companies wanted to list.

Hong Kong’s market liquidity is improving and will probably keep getting better, Leung said. Capital wants to be geographically closer to the companies, and more companies are choosing to list on the Hong Kong exchange.

The Hong Kong market can handle Chinese tech companies, he added.

When news breaks about Chinese companies, investors in Hong Kong can respond immediately.

More mainland companies are doing secondary listings in Hong Kong—the A-to-H trend, named after how mainland and Hong Kong shares are designated. This brings in investment money and sets valuation benchmarks for companies across semiconductors, manufacturing, electronics, software, and consumer goods.

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