How HKEX Became the Nerve Centre Linking China and the World’s Capital

09/02/2026

How HKEX Became the Nerve Centre Linking China and the World’s Capital

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) has reinforced its position as Asia’s leading international exchange and a key bridge between China and global capital, posting strong growth across its markets and products in 2025.

Hong Kong-based, globally connected

HKEX reported revenue and other income of HK$21.9 billion as of September 2025, up 37 percent year-on-year, underscoring robust trading and listing activity across its platforms. The group’s market capitalisation stood at about HK$520 billion at the end of 2025, supported by operations spanning eight offices across Asia, Europe and North America and a workforce of more than 2,400 full-time employees. Through its charitable arm, HKEX Foundation, the bourse has donated over HK$615 million to local communities since its launch, highlighting a growing focus on social impact alongside financial performance

HKEX regulates more than 2,600 listed companies and operates Hong Kong’s stock and derivatives markets, while also running global commodities venues including the London Metal Exchange (LME) and associated clearing houses such as HKCC, OTC Clear and LME Clear. The group says its mandate extends beyond market operations, emphasising its role in connecting China and the world through “ground-breaking” Connect schemes and in supporting community initiatives at home

Multi-asset platform and China connectivity

Positioning itself as “Asia’s leading international exchange”, HKEX continues to expand across securities, derivatives and commodities. In equities, the exchange hosts more than 2,600 issuers and reported an average daily turnover of HK$250 billion in 2025, a 90 percent year-on-year increase, underpinned by a diverse ecosystem spanning shares, ETFs, REITs, CBBCs, derivatives warrants and securitised debt. Hong Kong has been the world’s top structured products market for more than 17 years, with HKEX pointing to a fast‑growing ETF segment as a key driver.

In derivatives, average contracts traded daily reached about 1.66 million in 2025, up 7 percent year-on-year, supported by market enhancements such as holiday trading and revised position limits, as well as a broad MSCI derivatives suite of 38 futures and one options contract. On the commodities side, the LME — described as the world’s first metals trading venue — recorded average daily volumes of more than 759,000 lots in 2025, while Qianhai Mercantile Exchange (QME) in Mainland China posted turnover of RMB104.7 billion in 2024 in its spot commodities market.

At the heart of HKEX’s strategy is its China-focused connectivity platform, anchored by the Stock Connect, Bond Connect and Swap Connect schemes linking Hong Kong with Shanghai and Shenzhen markets. Stock Connect, an equity trading link, now accounts for about 75 percent of total foreign ownership in Mainland A-shares as of June 2025, while Northbound Bond Connect recorded average daily turnover of more than RMB40 billion year-to-date in November 2025 with 839 registered overseas institutional investors. HKEX has also built a suite of China derivatives, including MSCI China A50 Connect Index Futures, Hang Seng TECH Index and HSCEI products, and USD/CNH currency futures and options.

Evolving Connect schemes and fundraising hub

The Connect story has unfolded over more than a decade, beginning with Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2014 and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2016, followed by Bond Connect in 2017 and the launch of Swap Connect in recent years. Between 2023 and 2024, HKEX introduced a series of enhancements, including the inclusion of international companies in Southbound Stock Connect, expansion of eligible securities and ETFs for both directions of trade, and the launch of Synapse, a settlement acceleration platform for Stock Connect. Planned next steps include block trading, an RMB counter in Southbound trading, the inclusion of REITs in Stock Connect and the introduction of China government bond futures.

Hong Kong’s role as a premier international fundraising centre remains central to HKEX’s narrative. More than US$300 billion has been raised in IPOs on the exchange over the past decade, and Hong Kong ranked as the top global IPO venue by funds raised in 2025 with over US$37 billion. From 2015 to 2025, aggregated IPO proceeds topped US$300 billion, outpacing major rivals including Nasdaq, Shanghai Stock Exchange, NYSE, Shenzhen Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange, according to data from the World Federation of Exchanges and Dealogic.

New economy focus and international reach

Listing reforms introduced since 2018 have “changed the DNA” of Hong Kong’s markets, opening the door to weighted‑voting‑rights structures, pre‑revenue biotech firms and a wider pool of Greater China issuers, both primary and secondary. Subsequent reforms enabled SPAC listings from 2022 and, in 2023, HKEX rolled out the 18C Specialist Technology Regime and GEM reforms to support innovative tech companies and small and medium-sized enterprises. Since 2018, more than 430 new economy companies have listed on HKEX, raising over HK$1 trillion and accounting for about 66 percent of total Hong Kong IPO fundraising over that period, underscoring the city’s role as a hub for growth sectors.

The exchange is also broadening its international footprint in products and issuers, particularly through ETFs and structured products. Its international ETF line-up now covers markets such as India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Vietnam, while the MSCI product suite spans India, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, and structured products reference major US single stocks including Apple, Nvidia and Tesla. International investors account for more than 40 percent of cash market activity and over 30 percent of derivatives trading, and HKEX hosts more than 150 international issuers, including 102 from Southeast Asia as of December 2025.

Risk management and emerging businesses

HKEX has been building what it describes as Asia’s risk management hub on the back of record derivatives volumes and new product launches. Average daily volume in the derivatives market climbed from 1.35 million contracts in the 2023 financial year to 1.55 million in 2024 and 1.66 million in 2025, driven by a vibrant Hang Seng Index equities suite with more than 540,000 contracts traded daily in 2025 and innovations such as Hang Seng Biotech Index Futures, weekly stock options and weekly Hang Seng TECH Index options. The exchange identifies further growth opportunities in stock options, short‑dated contracts, fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC), and MSCI emerging market index products.

Beyond its core markets, HKEX is investing in emerging businesses across climate, over-the-counter (OTC) clearing and data and indices. Its Core Climate platform allows trading of voluntary carbon credits with settlement in Hong Kong dollars and renminbi, while OTC Clear provides clearing services for products such as currency and interest rate swaps, with notional contracts cleared reaching US$828 billion in the first half of 2025, up 71 percent year-on-year and a record half-year high. HKEX is also developing its Data Marketplace and index franchise, including the launch of the HKEX Tech 100 Index, to build a competitive suite of information products for global clients.

by John Fernandes
Online Media Manager, Arab Times