Beijing is restricting certain Chinese companies incorporated overseas from seeking initial public offerings in Hong Kong, requesting them to change their domicile back to China before going public, three people with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has told a number of IPO candidates in recent days that they should not list in Hong Kong unless they overhaul their corporate structure, the people said, declining to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
It is not immediately clear how many IPO candidates have received such guidance. Currently, over 530 companies have filed applications for a Hong Kong listing, according to the exchange’s website.
The CSRC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while the Hong Kong stock exchange declined to comment.
Bloomberg News first reported on Tuesday the restrictions, citing people familiar with the matter.
While stopping short of an outright ban, Chinese regulators have recently discouraged IPO applications from “red-chip” firms – companies that are registered abroad, but hold assets and businesses in China via equity ownership, the report said.
Beijing seeks to further strengthen oversight of offshore share sales by Chinese companies, the sources told Bloomberg, amid a listing boom that made Hong Kong the top global IPO market last year.
Chinese companies accounted for 77% of Hong Kong’s total market capitalisation at the end of 2025, exchange data shows.
The report of the tightening comes in contrast with Hong Kong’s latest proposal to lower market value thresholds for companies seeking to use a dual-class share structure, among other new measures to boost its competitiveness.
Reuters
