Hong Kong IPO Handbook 2024

HONG KONGIPO HANDBOOK 2024香港首次公开上市手册 2024 HONG KONGIPO HANDBOOK2024 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the priorwritten permission of the publishers. Asian Legal Business, Thomson Reuters, the Asian Legal Business logo and the Thomson Reuters logo aretrademarks of Thomson Reuters. ©2023 Thomson Reuters Sales Managers Published by Yvonne Cheung张裕裕China Key Accounts+86 131 4394 3617yvonne.cheung@tr.com Thomson Reuters Hong Kong Limited15/F, 14 Taikoo Wan Road, Taikoo Shing, Hong KongTel: +852 2847 2088Fax: + 852 2520 6646Email: ALBEditor@thomsonreuters.comwww.legalbusinessonline.com/asia Steven Zhao赵树群China Key Accounts+86 186 1004 8891s.zhao@tr.com Senior Director, Media & Events,Asia & Emerging Markets –Amantha ChiaManaging Editor –Ranajit DamRankings and Special Projects Editor –Wang BingqingTraffic/Circulation Manager –Rozidah Jambari Steffi Yang杨绮繁South and West China+86 136 8326 8390qifan.yang@tr.com Printed in Hong KongISBN 978-988-8591-16-9 Hiroshi KanekoSales ManagerJapan+81 3 4520 1192hiroshi.kaneko@tr.com About Asian Legal Business AsianLegal Business(ALB)is owned by ThomsonReuters,the world’s leading source of intelligentinformation for businesses and professionals. With itsportfolioof leading titles,online services,rankings,law awards and in-house legal summits, ALB providesauthoritativeand unbiased insights and unmatchednetworking and business development opportunities tolegal professionals throughout the Asia-Pacific and theMiddle East regions. Jonathan YapIndonesia, Singapore+65 9128 7945jonathan.yap@tr.com Krupa DalalIndia, Middle East+91 22 6189 7087krupa.dalal@tr.com ALB combines news and analysis from its team ofprofessional legal journalists and the expert opinionsof senior industry professionals with Reuters news andinsights that power business across the globe. Romulus ThamMalaysia, Philippines, Thailand & Vietnam+65 6973 8248romulus.tham@thomsonreuters.com From the team here at Asian Legal Business, I am delighted to introduce to you the ALB Hong Kong IPO Handbook 2024. This year, the growth of Hong Kong IPOs and the funds raised have experienced a slowdown due to various factors.Despite this, the Hong Kong stock market has demonstrated resilience compared to the global market. In the first threequarters, there were 47 new listings, reflecting a 16.1 percent decrease compared to the same period last year. The totalfunds raised amounted to HK$24.6 billion ($3.15 billion), marking a significant 67 percent decrease from the previousyear. While new listings faced sluggishness, the accumulation of listing applications remained steady, with over 110companies planning to go public as of October. In contrast to the overall market, non-profitable biotech companies have shown a growth trend, surpassing the sameperiod last year. This underscores Hong Kong's resilience as a fundraising hub for biotech companies. As of Sept. 30, atotal of 29 information technology, media, and telecommunications companies, as well as 20 healthcare and biotechcompanies, have applied for listing in Hong Kong, including nine non-profitable biotech companies. To uphold Hong Kong's status as a major international financial center, HKEX has implemented several reform measuresto enhance the listing framework and promote the diversification and multi-tiered development of the capital market.These measures include introducing new listing pathways for special technology companies, lowering the expectedmarket capitalization threshold for listing, reducing the percentage of research and development expenses, refining therequirements for substantial investment by sophisticated independent investors, and optimizing the pricing process.HKEX has also released a consultation paper on GEM reform, proposing measures to enhance GEM's appeal to smalland medium-sized enterprises with high growth potential. Additionally, a dedicated task force has been establishedto comprehensively review factors affecting stock market liquidity. The introduction of the new digitalized first-timepublic offering settlement platform, FINI, has facilitated market participants and issuers, enhancing market efficiencyand assisting in effective risk and cost management. Furthermore, a new prepayment model for public offering funds willbe introduced to reduce the frozen funds from oversubscribed new shares. This handbook is designed to assist you in navigating the listing process successfully. It covers various aspects, including butnot limited to, considerations for IPO and pre-IPO preparation, the IPO application process, the latest listing rules, Chapter18C, and new specialist technology company listing regimes, as well as the spin-off of subsidiaries of Hong Kong-listedcompanies. It also addresses key considerations for HKEX's ESG reporting compliance and strategy