Hong Kong Exchange Operator Has Another Record Quarter on Strong Trading, Listing Activity — Update

By Kimberley Kao

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing reported record profit and revenue for the third quarter as trading and listing activity in the Asian financial hub continued to gain momentum.

Net profit jumped 56% from a year earlier to 4.90 billion Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to US$630.3 million, the stock-exchange operator said Wednesday. That topped the HK$4.70 billion consensus estimate of analysts in a Visible Alpha poll.

Core business revenue increased 54% to HK$7.48 billion, driven by stronger trading and clearing fees. Trading volumes also surged, with the headline average daily turnover more than doubling to a record HK$286.4 billion, it said.

"HKEX continued to capture the momentum of global diversification and attractiveness of Chinese assets," said Bonnie Y Chan, the exchange operator's chief executive.

Hong Kong remains on track to become the world's top listing destination by proceeds this year as increased investor participation, market liquidity and policy support spur an IPO revival. The rebound has been fueled by Chinese companies seeking secondary listings and comes amid a surge of high-tech companies looking to tap the Hong Kong market.

At the same time, the benchmark Hang Seng Index has climbed about 29% in 2025, making it one of the best-performing indexes in the region. HKEX shares ended slightly lower at HK$423.60 after the results, taking gains this year to around 44%.

Analysts expect the trading momentum to continue, with DBS noting an active IPO market and strong participation by mainland China-based investors. The market also stands to benefit from rising global interest in artificial intelligence-related investment, it wrote in a note.

"The flip-flop developments in [the] U.S.-China tariffs war have added volatility to the market, further fueling trading activity," DBS Group Research said.

Renewed foreign interest in Chinese equities will also drive trading activity through the first quarter of next year, said Miranda Cheng, head of retail research at MIB Securities Hong Kong. "HKEX is well-positioned to maintain its global IPO leadership through year-end," Cheng said.

Thomas Mathews of Capital Economics observed that Chinese shares were more sensitive to trade tensions than most others this year, but noted that enthusiasm surrounding President Trump's Asia trip and the resulting trade deals provided decent tailwinds. Chinese equities are likely to benefit from any further easing of U.S.-China tensions, the head of markets for Asia-Pacific said in a recent note.

Citi Research lifted its target price on HKEX to HK$515 from HK$510 after the results as analyst Michael Zhang raised his full-year earnings forecast through 2026, citing the better-than-expected core revenue performance in the third quarter and higher trading-activity assumptions.

In the first three quarters of the year, funds raised from 69 new listings in the city more than tripled to HK$188.3 billion. That was the strongest nine-month period since 2021, according to HKEX.

The exchange had 297 active IPO applications as of the end of September, up from 84 at end-December.

Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 05, 2025 04:41 ET (09:41 GMT)