Illustration: Liu Xidan/GT

The launch of the HKEX Tech 100 Index on Tuesday offers a timely lens through which to observe how Hong Kong's equity market is adapting to the steady evolution of regional market dynamics. Behind this development is the accelerating growth of technology-driven companies and their deepening engagement with capital markets - an interaction that is gradually exerting a more durable influence on how investors assess opportunities in the region.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) announced on Tuesday the launch of the HKEX Tech 100 Index, a broad-based benchmark designed to track the performance of 100 of the largest Hong Kong-listed companies across six innovative themes, including artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. All constituents are eligible for Stock Connect southbound trading, ensuring broad accessibility for global and Chinese mainland investors.

By bringing together companies from multiple high-growth sectors into a broad-based benchmark, the index provides a more systematic way to track the performance of technology firms listed in Hong Kong, while also underscoring the market's ability to accommodate increasingly sophisticated investment patterns.

Behind this development, the rapid growth of the Chinese mainland's technology sector has contributed positively to the Hong Kong stock market. In turn, Hong Kong's position as an international financial center provides essential funding support for these mainland tech and innovation enterprises, supporting their growth and sustaining a positive, mutually reinforcing cycle.

In recent years, Chinese tech and innovation enterprises have not only expanded rapidly in number but have also seen quality improvements in key sectors such as unmanned systems, biomedicine, and intelligent manufacturing. These companies have become stabilizing forces in the economy. 

A report by the China Science and Technology Daily in June, citing data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that China had cultivated more than 600,000 technology- and innovation-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), more than 140,000 specialized and innovative SMEs, and 14,600 "little giant" specialized enterprises.

As China accelerates its high-quality economic transformation, signals this year suggest that the country's technology and innovation sectors are developing at an accelerating pace. This growth is generating a steady stream of attractive listing opportunities for capital markets, including those in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which in turn has contributed to an acceleration in tech IPOs.

In 2025, the wave of tech and innovation IPOs in Hong Kong has drawn attention, with mainland tech enterprises increasingly choosing to list in the city. According to the China Business Journal, 68 tech and innovation companies had gone public in Hong Kong as of the end of July, accounting for 38.2 percent of all Chinese mainland IPOs in the city during the period.

KPMG's Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong IPO markets 2025 mid-year review further illustrated the trend. According to the report, Hong Kong's IPO fundraising, listing and application activity surged in the first half of 2025, with a sevenfold year-on-year increase in funds raised and a significant portion of participants coming from high-tech, biotech, and the new economy.

As the year draws to a close, the launch of the HKEX Tech 100 Index comes at an appropriate moment. It represents a natural continuation of the development of technology stocks in Hong Kong, reflecting both the growing scale of mainland-based technology enterprises and the market's capacity to accommodate them.

The new index is expected to reinforce the positive interaction between technology companies and Hong Kong's equity market. By consolidating innovation-driven firms into a broad-based benchmark, it provides investors with a clearer, more structured view of opportunities across these sectors. As HKEX Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Y Chan noted, "this new benchmark provides investors with an effective and comprehensive tool to capture opportunities in some of the most exciting and transformative sectors in our market."

Interaction between mainland enterprises and Hong Kong's capital market is set to generate new opportunities for both issuers and investors. As innovation-led companies continue to scale and diversify, Hong Kong's role as an international financial center is expected to be further reinforced, serving as a platform for the intersection of technological innovation, financial development, and investment opportunities in a mutually reinforcing cycle.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn