Asian stock offerings break out of multi-year slump as Hong Kong, India lead gains

Companies from China and India are preparing to launch major stock offerings in 2026, banking on investor interest in markets outside the United States. But growing worries about sky-high technology prices could slow things down.

Deals involving Asian stocks, including new company listings, follow-up sales, and convertible bonds, reached $267 billion through this year. That marks a 15% jump from 2024 and the first year-over-year increase since 2021, according to data from LSEG viewed by Reuters.

Hong Kong has been the clear winner among listing locations. Chinese firms raised $75 billion there in 2025, more than three times what they brought in last year. It’s the highest amount since 2021, the data revealed.

India collected $19.3 billion from new stock listings this year, LSEG numbers showed. That’s down 6% from the record $20.5 billion seen in 2024. The tally doesn’t count the $604 million offering from online shopping site Meesho happening this week.

“China’s recovery and India’s continued expansion have been the twin engines driving equity issuance across Asia this year,” James Wang from Goldman Sachs said. He runs the firm’s Asian stock deals outside Japan.

“We expect both markets to remain central to regional deal flow in 2026,” Wang added. “We are still in the early stages of a broader upswing … supported by Asia’s economic growth and improving corporate earnings.”

Major deals expected in 2026

Looking ahead, India might pull in as much as $20 billion from company debuts in 2026, Equirus Capital predicted. More than 300 businesses have submitted paperwork for Hong Kong listings, public records show.

Big offerings like India’s Reliance Jio Platforms debut and the Hong Kong listing of China’s Zhongji Innolight Co. should push volumes much higher in 2026, advisers said.

Asia has gained as investors worldwide spread their money around more. Many have moved away from U.S. holdings lately because of uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s trade and foreign policy plans.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has climbed nearly 30% this year, doing better than major U.S. benchmarks. India’s main index is up about 10.8%.

Taking advantage of good conditions, Chinese battery maker CATL pulled in $5.3 billion with a Hong Kong listing. Zijin Gold International brought in $3.5 billion from its debut. Both rank among the world’s biggest offerings this year.

SK Hynix chairman weighs in on AI bubble debate

Wild swings in U.S. stocks during November exposed problems with the global rush into artificial intelligence investments. Questions arose about whether markets had gotten caught up in a speculative bubble ready to burst.

Concerns about extreme prices come as Chinese AI developers Zhipu AI and MiniMax, plus chip makers MetaX and Kunlunxin, plan their own listings. These deals could total billions of dollars.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the South Korean conglomerate that owns leading memory chipmaker SK Hynix said artificial intelligence stocks could come under pressure after rising too fast and too much, but the industry is not in a bubble.

Concerns about lofty AI stock valuations have begun to weigh on broader financial markets, while there are questions about when huge AI investments will translate into actual profits.

“I don’t see a bubble in (the AI industry),” SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won said at a forum in Seoul when asked by the Bank of Korea governor about concerns over AI bubbles.

“But when you look at the stock markets, they rose too fast and too much, and I think it is natural that there could be some period of corrections,” he said, adding that AI stocks have been climbing beyond their fundamental value.

Chey said “overshooting” in stock valuations is not new for a growth industry, and the development of AI would lead to significant productivity gains.

Shares in SK Hynix, which supplies high-end memory chips to power Nvidia’s powerful AI chipsets, surged 214% over one year, propelled by robust demand for its products from AI data center builders, which are investing trillions of dollars.

The South Korean company reported in October another record quarterly profit, driven by the AI boom, and said it has sold out all its chip production for next year, expecting an extended chip “super cycle.”

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