Hong Kong Stocks 2025 Year-End Review: Hang Seng Index rises nearly 28% leading the world, Hua Hong surges 240%, Alibaba leads internet comeback, southbound funds buy 1.4 trillion aggressively

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In 2025, the Hong Kong stock market ended the year strongly with its best annual performance in five years. Core indexes led the gains among major global capital markets, with a “valuation recovery” trend prevailing throughout the year.

Over the past year, the Hong Kong stock market experienced “rising first, then restraining” movements. Liquidity-driven market recovery occurred in the first quarter, while dual support from policy and liquidity supported the market in the second half. In September, an unexpectedly large interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve pushed the Hang Seng Index to its annual high, while towards year-end, the market entered a period of mild adjustment.

Southbound capital recorded a net inflow exceeding 1.41 trillion yuan over the year, setting a new annual record since the launch of the interconnect mechanism and acting as the “ballast stone” of market liquidity. The valuation recovery trend ran throughout the year, with 13 stocks surging over tenfold, and star performers were concentrated in hard technology, biomedicine, and precious metals tracks.

The IPO market also showed robust performance. With major IPOs led by CATL, the total IPO scale in 2025 reached HKD 286.3 billion, regaining the top position globally. Nineteen A-share companies were listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, raising a total of around HKD 140 billion, accounting for about half of the total IPO fundraising, making it the year with the most A-share companies going public in Hong Kong.

Looking ahead to 2026, multiple institutions have issued optimistic forecasts for Hong Kong stocks. CITIC Securities believes that the Hong Kong market will benefit from the “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan” catalysts and dual easing policies from major external economies. As fundamentals rebound from the bottom, the Hong Kong stock market will embrace a second round of valuation recovery and further earnings improvement.

Core Indexes Explode Across the Board, Southbound Capital Hits Historical High

As of closing on December 31, the Hang Seng Index climbed from about 19,600 points at the start of the year to 25,630 points, with an annual gain of 27.77%—the best result in five years. The Hang Seng Tech Index rose in tandem by nearly 23.45%; the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 22.27%. These results ranked at the forefront of global major stock indices, outperforming the Nasdaq and S&P 500.

Southbound capital became the key driver for the market’s strength. Data shows that in 2025, Southbound capital’s net purchase of Hong Kong stocks reached HKD 1.41 trillion, a historical high and significantly higher than around HKD 807.9 billion in 2024.

The IPO market also showed strong vitality, with total IPO scale reaching HKD 286.3 billion and returning to number one globally. Twelve companies raised more than HKD 5 billion each, while CATL’s listing in Hong Kong set the largest IPO record in three years. Nineteen A-share companies were listed in Hong Kong, raising a total of nearly HKD 140 billion—about half of the total Hong Kong IPO fundraising, also marking a record year for A-share companies listing in Hong Kong.

Metals and Mining Sectors Dominate Gains, Precious Metals Lead the Market

Hong Kong stocks showed clear structural features by sector, with materials leading the way, especially precious metals, while semiconductor and healthcare sectors also performed well.

Benefiting from a global commodities cycle rebound, the materials sector surged by nearly 200% over the year, becoming the market’s biggest highlight. Hong Kong gold stocks rose in tandem with gold prices, with Everest Gold soaring 1,286.36% in a year. Silver, platinum, copper, cobalt, lithium, and other non-ferrous metals also saw strong gains—for example, CMOC rose more than 281.05%.

Other sectors: With rapid domestication in AI and semiconductor development, the semiconductor sector surged 139%; healthcare also shone, rising more than 89% over the year. Multiple innovative drug companies achieved breakthroughs, and international BD for innovative pharmaceuticals advanced steadily.

Clusters of Tenfold Stocks Emerge, Alibaba Leads Internet Sector Gains

The Hong Kong stock market's strong profit effect led to a “cluster of tenfold stocks”—the most vivid characteristic of the market in 2025. According to Wind data by December 31, 379 Hong Kong-listed stocks had doubled in price since 2025, of which 13 have risen over tenfold. Base Championship Group rocketed more than 41 times within the year, becoming “stock king.”

Looking at distribution, the track aggregation effect was clear. In hard tech and AI transformation, Yuegang Bay Holdings, with its AI infrastructure and strategic cooperation with HGTech, logged a cumulative gain of 33.05 times in the year. In biomedicine, Beihai Kangcheng, “the first rare disease stock,” surged over 18-fold; Clover Biopharma and others rose over eightfold. In precious metals, Everest Gold surged twelvefold, benefiting from record-high gold prices.

Within the Hang Seng Tech Index constituents, semiconductors led, with Hua Hong Semiconductor rising more than 240% for the year, topping the tech index, and SMIC up more than 120%. The humanoid robotics industry also attracted focus, with Horizon Robotics concept stocks surging 140%. Among Internet giants, Alibaba rose more than 76%, Xpeng Motors gained over 70%, and Baidu rose 59.01%.

Looking ahead to 2026, both buy-side and sell-side institutions are optimistic about Hong Kong stocks. Many expect that, as liquidity improves and corporate earnings recover, Hong Kong stocks will continue to rise, with drivers shifting from valuation recovery to earnings growth. CITIC Securities forecasts Hong Kong stocks will benefit from internal “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan” catalysts and major external economies’ “fiscal + monetary” dual easing policies—especially in the US and Japan. Hong Kong now has a full domestic high-quality AI industrial chain along with more top A-share leaders going public, so it’s expected to benefit from liquidity spillover from both markets and the ongoing AI narrative.

Risk Warning and DisclaimerThe market involves risks; investment must be made cautiously. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it consider specific investment objectives, financial situations, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions herein fit their unique circumstances. Any investment based on this is at your own risk. ```