Hong Kong eyes mainland investors with Tech 100 Index

About 400 firms have applied for listing, including seven global tech companies.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HKEX) expects its Tech 100 Index to offer wider exposure to the city’s technology sector as mainland Chinese investors increase demand for Hong Kong-listed stocks.

Introduced in December, the benchmark tracks 100 companies eligible for the Southbound Stock Connect, the trading link that lets mainland investors buy Hong Kong shares.

Those investors account for roughly 25% of daily turnover, Gregory Yu, HKEX head of markets, said in a video call.

“Whilst large-cap companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Xiaomi Corp. are the top-weighted constituents, we also want to give newly listed firms visibility,” Yu told Hong Kong Business.

About 400 firms have applied to list in Hong Kong, including seven international tech companies last year. “The index could become even more geographically diversified,” he said in a video call.

Tech 100 was launched as Hong Kong’s capital markets rebounded. Last year, the city raised $274.6b through 106 initial public offerings (IPO), ranking the world’s largest IPO venue by funds raised. 

Average daily turnover in the cash market jumped 95% year-on-year to $255.8b in the first 11 months of 2025.

Lorraine Tan, director of equity research (Asia) at Morningstar, Inc., said the benchmark could support the creation of tech funds and exchange-traded funds (ETF). 

“This gives broader exposure to the sector instead of cherry-picking individual stocks,” she said in an emailed reply to questions.

HKEX is working with mainland China’s E Fund Management Co., Ltd., one of the country’s biggest asset managers, to launch an ETF linked to the index. “This will allow mainland investors to gain exposure to Hong Kong’s market,” Yu said.

Tech 100 covers firms across artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, biotechnology, and robotics. “Our methodology is designed to capture both large and smaller companies,” Yu said.

Morningstar Senior Analyst Yiming Li said the index would compete with existing benchmarks such as the Hang Seng Tech Index and CSI Hong Kong Technology Index.

Some technology themes, including AI and robotics, remain in early development, whilst others, such as electric vehicles, continue to attract investor interest, he added.