Hong Kong’s Sixfold Jump in Share Sales Drives Boom Year in Asia

Pedestrians on a street in the Central district in Hong Kong. 

Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg

Hong Kong’s having a banner year as it marches toward becoming the second-largest market globally for share sales for the first time since 2012.

Proceeds from listings and additional share sales in the Asian financial hub in the first half have reached about $33 billion, poised for a sixfold jump from a year ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Offerings from electric carmakers BYD Co. and Xiaomi Corp. raised the most, followed by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., which had the world’s biggest new listing this year.