Exclusive | Beijing could look at expanding ‘connect’ scheme to add Hong Kong IPOs: HSBC APAC chair

‘An IPO connect can meet the demand for mainland investors to invest in global assets,’ Peter Wong says

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Peter Wong Tung-shun, HSBC’s non-executive chairman for the Asia-Pacific region. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 5:24pm, 7 Mar 2025Updated: 6:33pm, 7 Mar 2025

Beijing could explore allowing investors on the mainland to put money into initial public offerings (IPOs) in Hong Kong, along with other enhancements to existing cross-border investment mechanisms, said Peter Wong Tung-shun, HSBC Holdings’ non-executive chairman for the Asia-Pacific region.

“An ‘IPO connect’ can meet the demand for mainland investors to invest in global assets,” Wong said on Friday in a written response to the Post. “For Hong Kong, a new IPO connect can attract more overseas firms to list here, and hence will further expand capital market activities and business opportunities.”

Wong is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and is vice-chairman of its Committee for Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

“Hong Kong should leverage … ‘one country, two systems’ to support the liberalisation of China’s financial sector,” Wong said.

Wong said he would also like to see expansions of the existing connect schemes covering Hong Kong stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and wealth-management products to allow for greater participation by mainland-based investors.

Beijing first introduced the Stock Connect scheme in 2014 to link the Hong Kong and Shanghai markets; Shenzhen was added to the mix in 2016. Under the scheme at the time, investors on the mainland could buy Hong Kong stocks, while international investors could trade in mainland stocks via Hong Kong. The Connect programme later expanded to include bonds, ETFs, wealth-management products and swaps.