In the first half of this year, Hong Kong achieved a number of bright breakthroughs: the scale of wealth management surpassed Switzerland, the world’s fastest-growing rich, attracting substantial investment growth, and so on. Why Hong Kong has achieved so many remarkable results and been continuously bet by global investors has aroused constant debate in Hong Kong society.
Figures released on April 8th showed that 40 new shares were listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the first quarter of this year, raising HK $109.9 billion, the most in the world. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Reflecting continued confidence in Hong Kong
The SFC’s 2025 survey of asset and wealth management activity shows that part of the increase in Hong Kong’s gross assets under management is due to net capital inflows, the latter jumped 193% year-on-year to HK $2.1 trillion, the third consecutive year of growth. By sector, assets under management in Asset Management and fund advisory were up 19 per cent year-on-year, while private banking and private wealth management were up 24 per cent. The growth of funds registered in Hong Kong by the SFC was solid. By the end of 2025, the net asset value of these funds increased by 38% year-on-year. This trend has continued this year. Its net asset value rose 13 per cent year on year to HK $2.6 TN at the end of May 2026. Meanwhile, net inflows into the sector more than doubled to HK $357BN in 2025 from a year earlier, with net inflows of HK $118BN in the first five months of the year.
The Hong Kong Private Wealth Management Association (PWMA) said it was pleased to see continued strong growth in the private banking and private wealth management sectors in Hong Kong, the SFC’s findings are consistent with those of PWMA’s private wealth management report for Hong Kong 2025. PWMA’s report shows that its clients’ confidence in Hong Kong as the centre of choice for wealth management is at a three-year high, with all its member institutions expressing optimism about the market’s prospects over the next five years. PWMA said net capital inflows to Hong Kong had nearly tripled, with about 70 per cent of assets coming from institutional and corporate investors, reflecting continued confidence in Hong Kong’s regulatory framework, market infrastructure and investment capabilities.
The SFC’s findings also chime with those of BCG’s global wealth report 2026. Hong Kong ranked as the world’s largest cross-border wealth management centre in 2025 with $2.95 TN in cross-border wealth, according to the BCG report.
Shi Zhu, chairman of the Hong Kong economic think tank, said the city’s record wealth management in 2025 was driven by“Multiple unique dividends”, relying on the“One country, two systems” super contact positioning, to meet the global asset allocation needs of high net worth people on the mainland, overseas funds accounted for more than 50% of total assets under management; second, the system and industry ecology continued to improve, the introduction of preferential tax exemptions for open-end fund companies and family offices, the expansion of cross-border financial services, and the mature common law regulatory system and free capital circulation mechanism have significantly increased the attractiveness of fund products.
The accelerated development of asset and wealth management in Hong Kong has also provided opportunities for a number of financial institutions, including large international financial institutions, to strengthen their presence in Hong Kong, there are also wealth management platforms that are relatively young. Citigroup says about 30 per cent of its wealth management revenues come from asia-pacific. Citigroup believes that Hong Kong is not only an important springboard for Chinese enterprises to go global, but also a strategic base for multinational institutions to expand their markets in mainland China and the asia-pacific region, as a result, Citigroup Hong Kong can take full advantage of the group’s international network.
Endowus, the singapore-based independent wealth adviser and investment platform, has seen rapid growth in both Hong Kong and Singapore since its launch in 2017. In June, it doubled its office space in Hong Kong to cope with a rapidly growing team and client base. Sunac’s co-founder and chief executive officer, said that Hong Kong is at the heart of wealth creation, cross-border capital flows and financial innovation in Asia, the expansion is a clear demonstration of the company’s confidence in Hong Kong as a global wealth management centre and its long-term commitment to Hong Kong.
The IPO market continues to heat up
Hong Kong’s IPO market continued to be hot in the first half of this year, with the big four accounting firms expecting to raise between HK $300 billion and HK $380 billion for the full year, maintaining their position among the top three in the world, local media said. PWC expects 150 new listings this year, which could raise up to HK $380BN. A combination of factors helped Hong Kong’s IPO market rise 92 percent to HK $210 billion in the first half from a year earlier, the second-largest in the world, with 87 new listings, up 98 percent, PWC said, both figures were the highest for the same period in nearly five years. PWC Capital Markets Services Partner Gold Money, said recently received a lot from Southeast Asia and the Middle East Enterprises, is expected to be the second half and next year more overseas enterprises to apply for listing in Hong Kong.
Some analysts believe that the sharp rise in Hong Kong IPOS is mainly driven by three major factors, including leading mainland enterprises actively listing in Hong Kong, and more and more mainland technology enterprises seeking dual listings, and strong international investor interest in high-growth new economy sectors, particularly artificial intelligence, new materials, semiconductors and creative robotics.
There are three structural advantages
Chan, Hong Kong’s financial secretary, said the city’s dual advantages as a“Safe haven for money” and a“Hub of opportunity” had become more prominent in the complex and volatile global geopolitical situation. Hong Kong’s ability to buck the trend has three structural advantages, local media said. First, Hong Kong is a unique“Safe haven” under the“One country, two systems” principle. It enjoys the free flow of capital, people and information, a robust common law system, and the stable and predictable economic policies of the SAR government, it provides a high degree of certainty for international investors. Second, Hong Kong is the“Best Access Point” for international capital to allocate China’s opportunities, and the country’s innovation cluster in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, green energy, and biomedicine, attracting global capital to the mainland through Hong Kong’s connectivity. Finally, Hong Kong has the advantage of being a“Super value-added person”. It is not only a channel of capital, but also provides global asset allocation, risk management, RMB services and other value-added capabilities.
“Hong Kong fascinates capital,” the Hong Kong ta Kung Pao said in a commentary headlined, “The sustained, steady and positive development of the national economy is Hong Kong’s strongest backing.”. Hong Kong’s highly diversified and international sources of capital, with more than half of its total assets under management coming from overseas investors, are also the main reasons for the sustainable and healthy development of Hong Kong’s financial hub. However, the article also warned that Hong Kong should also be vigilant in times of peace, and continue to consolidate and enhance its leading position on the basis of recognizing its biggest backing and unique advantages. In the future, under the National 15 th five-year plan, we should further strengthen the role and function of“Internal connection and external communication”, promote more financial product innovation, and improve the depth, breadth and efficiency of the market, we will connect China’s opportunities with international capital more efficiently, build a moat as an international financial center and enhance its status as an international asset and wealth management center.