Hong Kong looks set for a bumper year for IPOs after companies raised more than HK$76 billion ($9.7 billion) through new listings on the city’s exchange from the beginning of the year to May 25. That’s a year-on-year increase of more than eightfold and close to 90% of the HK$88 billion raised through such offerings for the whole of 2024.

The boom is being driven partly by companies already trading on the A-share markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen seeking offshore IPOs to raise funds. Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) (300750.SZ) accounted for more than half of the total, earning it the title of the world’s largest IPO of the year so far. The Shenzhen-listed battery giant debuted on Hong Kong’s main board on May 20, raising HK$41 billion, the largest IPO in the city in more than four years.