Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is a Hong Kong financial services holding company formed on 6 March 2000 from the merger of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Futures Exchange, and the Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company. Through its subsidiaries it runs the cash equities, exchange traded products, REITs, structured products, and debt securities markets on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK), the equity index, single stock, FX, interest rate, and commodity derivatives markets on the Hong Kong Futures Exchange (HKFE), and four clearing houses that provide settlement, depository, and central counterparty services across those markets. HKEX's defining feature is that it operates two distinct franchises under one group. It is the main gateway for international capital into mainland China equities through the Stock Connect, Bond Connect, and Swap Connect links to the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, and, since its December 2012 acquisition of the London Metal Exchange for about £1.39 billion, it also operates the world's largest base metals market, setting reference prices for copper, aluminium, zinc, nickel, lead, and tin. That combination of mainland China listing venue and global metals exchange distinguishes it from single market operators, and its listing pipeline leans heavily on mainland Chinese technology, biotech, and A+H dual listed issuers rather than a broad global cross section. HKEX is itself listed on the SEHK under ticker 0388.HK. As of end February 2026 it reported a market capitalisation of roughly HK$48.5 trillion (about US$6.2 trillion) across 2,673 listed companies, ranking it the world's sixth largest stock exchange by that measure. The Hong Kong government is its single largest shareholder and holds the right to appoint six of its thirteen board directors. Bonnie Chan Yiting became CEO on 1 March 2024, succeeding Nicolas Aguzin, with Carlson Tong Ka-shing serving as chairman; for the first quarter of 2026 HKEX reported group revenue and other income of HK$8.2 billion, up 20 percent year on year, and profit attributable to shareholders of HK$5.2 billion, up 27 percent. In 2025 Hong Kong reclaimed the position of world's top IPO venue: HKEX listed companies raised roughly HK$274.6 billion (about US$35.3 billion) across 106 new listings, with four of those offerings ranking among the ten largest IPOs globally that year, well ahead of the New York Stock Exchange's US$21.4 billion. Cash market average daily turnover for the first eleven months of 2025 reached HK$230.7 billion, up 43 percent year on year, a rebound market commentary attributed to mainland technology sector demand and a wave of A+H dual listings.
