Check out which sector dominated Hong Kong's IPO charge in Q1

This sector snapped a third of the city’s public offerings.

The infrastructure and real estate sector toppled the dominance of the financial services industry to account for over a third (31%) of Hong Kong’s initial public offerings in Q1, according to a report from accounting firm KPMG. 

The sector not only retained the title of having the most number of listings but also topped the list of total fundraising after two blockbuster IPOs - Zhenro Properties Group and A-Living Services Co - registered a whopping $8.6b.

The flotation of MECOM Power and Construction Ltd also raised $0.4b enabling it to zoom past TMT and industrial companies and settle for eighth place in terms of most funds raised.

“Construction IPOs will remain strong in the coming years, with the sector benefitting from major projects such as the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park and the “Greater Bay Area Initiative,” the report added.

Despite lower number of listings, the financial services sector scored the second spot in terms of total fundraising with the $6.8b flotation of Bank of Gansu Co., Ltd. snagging the highest-value IPO for Q1.

The sector is poised for a comeback in the near future as a series of bourse reform initiatives aim to open up the market to fintech listings in an effort to keep up pace with Western markets.

Also read: HKEX unveils plan to expand listing regime

The same holds true for the healthcare/life sciences sector as Hong Kong is set to finalise rules allowing the listing of pre-profit biotech companies which has already generated significant interest from Chinese pharmaceutical companies.

“In the long run, the sector is expected to become a key driving force of the Hong Kong IPO market. This is driven by developments in China, including changes to the medicinal registration regime and relaxation of the one-child policy, as well as the broader ageing population in Asia,” KPMG added.

Despite the boom in public listings, Hong Kong still lost to the New York bourse as the former only raised $24.4b in Q1, which is almost a quarter ($82.3b) of NYSE’s total IPO proceeds.

Photo from Haydn Hsin - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0