Hong Kong Stocks Return to the Midsummer Rally, Dancing in Sync with China’s Major Corporations

If Hong Kong stocks in 2024 were merely transitioning from winter to spring, then 2025 has truly ushered in a midsummer boom. This evolution mirrors the landscape presented in the 2025 Fortune China 500 list, which follows the same ranking methodology as the Fortune Global 500, covering both listed and unlisted companies. Over the past year, numerous A-share listed companies have sparked a wave of secondary listings in Hong Kong. Midea Group’s September IPO, the largest on the Hong Kong market in nearly three years, drew global attention.On July 9, Hong Kong witnessed a rare event with five companies ringing the opening bell on the same day, the most notable being Lens Technology, which listed simultaneously on both the A-share and H-share markets. Since 2005, Lens Technology has collaborated with Apple in product development and other areas, leveraging iPhone sales surges to achieve rapid growth. The media often groups it with Luxshare Precision and GoerTek as the three major “Apple supply chain” companies. Back in 2015, founder Zhou Qunfei led Lens Technology to go public on the ChiNext Board of the A-share market. This time, from submitting its prospectus to listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the process took only 100 days—a remarkably smooth path.Lens Technology surged 63 places on the 2025 Fortune China 500 ranking, highlighting its resilience and the success of its strategic transformation.

While significantly reducing reliance on Apple, Zhou Qunfei accelerated expansion into emerging sectors such as smart vehicles, AI glasses, and humanoid robots. It is expected that Lens Technology will use its Hong Kong listing as a springboard to drive a series of “Made in China” products overseas.The simultaneous listing of five companies also underscores the historic opportunity facing the Hong Kong market. In 2019, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange topped global IPO fundraising with HKD 289.6 billion, but subsequent shocks pushed the market into a downturn, with only 68 IPOs in 2023. Last year, Hong Kong IPOs gradually rebounded, and in the first half of 2025, funds raised reached HKD 106.7 billion, exceeding the total for the previous year and marking the highest level since 2022. Once doubted by both foreign and domestic investors, the Hong Kong market has regained its former glory, with the rise of the “A+H” dual listing trend playing a crucial role. In the first half of 2025 alone, four A-share companies—CATL, Hengrui Medicine, Haitian Flavouring, and Sanhua Intelligent Controls—accounted for nearly 70% of total Hong Kong IPO fundraising, with CATL raising HKD 41 billion, the highest globally.Following Lens Technology, another Apple supply chain company, Luxshare Precision, announced on July 5 its intention to list on the Hong Kong main board.

At the same time, companies such as SERES, Muyuan Foods, and JA Solar, all listed on the Fortune China 500, are actively planning Hong Kong listings. SERES submitted its listing application in April and in June announced a strategic financing round of RMB 5 billion for its subsidiary SERES Automotive, attracting nine major investors including ICBC Financial and Bank of Communications Financial, providing capital for its Hong Kong IPO, overseas expansion, supply chain integration, and technology R&D. Once listed in Hong Kong, SERES will become the next new energy vehicle company to join the Hong Kong market after NIO, Li Auto, XPeng, Leapmotor, Geely, and BYD.Ranked as the company with the largest jump on the 2025 Fortune China 500 (from 404th to 169th), SERES was once considered a marginal carmaker: poor sales of fuel vehicles and tight cash flow left it nearly forgotten. The turning point came with a bold decision by chairman Zhang Xinghai to halt all fuel vehicle production and fully commit to the new energy vehicle sector. The true breakthrough came through collaboration with Huawei; AITO integrated SERES’ automotive expertise with Huawei’s intelligent technologies, penetrating the luxury market long dominated by foreign brands and elevating the brand from mere survival to sought-after status.Following this business transformation, SERES’ market value soared above RMB 200 billion, establishing it as a significant player in China’s new energy vehicle industry.

Its decision to list in Hong Kong aligns with both the market boom and the company’s international expansion strategy. Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions in the first half of 2025, the Hang Seng Index and Hang Seng Tech Index rose approximately 20%, resonating with the surge in Hong Kong IPO activity. Companies like Midea, CATL, and Lens Technology are effectively replenishing their global expansion capabilities, highlighting SERES’ commitment to international markets.Undoubtedly, against the backdrop of global expansion, Hong Kong remains a vital bridge connecting mainland companies to global capital, and the Hong Kong stock market continues to be a key channel for foreign investment in Chinese companies. Among these, internet platform giants JD.com, Alibaba, Tencent, and Meituan—listed on the Fortune China 500—continue to serve as indicators for foreign investors assessing China’s economy. Last year, all four saw significant stock gains on the Hong Kong market, with Meituan climbing over 85%, signaling foreign capital returning to Chinese assets. Notably, foreign investors are now prioritizing competitive performance over policy stimulus, evaluating companies’ market positioning and growth potential.Meituan faces intensified competition from JD.com and Alibaba in food delivery and instant retail. To maintain its competitive moat and investor confidence, it must demonstrate that even if short-term profits decline, its market share remains resilient.

However, this fierce competition diverts critical resources—capital, talent, and time—from technology innovation toward operational minutiae like rapid food delivery.Recently, top tech investor Vinod Khosla remarked on Jack Altman’s Uncapped podcast that we are witnessing an unprecedented disruptive transformation, potentially toppling many world-class giants. “By the 2030s, the rate of decline among the Fortune Global 500 will likely set a historic record,” Khosla predicted—a warning Chinese tech giants should heed.Additionally, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group debuted on the Fortune China 500, reflecting the resilience of Chinese companies rebounding from adversity. After Wang Jianlin privatized Wanda Commercial Properties from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the path to relisting faced multiple obstacles. In March 2024, Taiming Investment Group, together with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala, and CITIC Capital, completed a strategic investment of approximately RMB 60 billion in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management’s holding platform, acquiring 60% equity and taking operational control.Originally listed on the Hong Kong main board on December 23, 2014, Wanda Commercial Properties, the world’s largest commercial management platform, is now undergoing an unprecedented transformation, with relisting remaining a key objective. Whether it can return to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, from which Wang Jianlin decisively withdrew nine years ago, adds a compelling footnote to Hong Kong stocks’ midsummer resurgence.