Companies choosing confidential filings often have concerns about sensitive information being released to the market in the early stages of the IPO process, which could attract scrutiny or allegations from competitors, Michael Yu, corporate partner at the firm, said in an interview.

“Some worry that, if they make a public filing, competitors or other parties will discover their listing timeline and could make complaints or take advantage of what is disclosed,” he said. “There is always a risk of allegations, intellectual property infringement or challenges to the accuracy of their data.”

“About 50 per cent of companies that are eligible to raise funds under Chapters 18A and 18C are choosing confidential filings,” Yu said. Reuters earlier reported that at least two dozen Chinese companies had confidentially filed to list in Hong Kong this year.