Hong Kong equity raising hits a record $47.5B in Q3 as Chinese AI firms rush to list

Hong Kong raised a record $47.5 billion through IPOs, placements and block trades in the third quarter, pushing 2026's total past $92 billion and within reach of the $112.5 billion annual record from 2021, Bloomberg reported October 3. AI drove the flow: model developer Z.AI has raised $9.6 billion across multiple deals this year, optical-transceiver maker Zhongji Innolight pulled off an $8 billion IPO, and chipmakers Iluvatar CoreX and Biren plus MiniMax tapped the market after lockups expired. Asia-Pacific share sales topped $120 billion for the quarter. The region now offers Chinese AI labs a deep exit route that does not depend on U.S. listings.