Big guns but no bright lights is Hong Kong's IPO destiny

EVEN if it doesn’t get to host the IPO of Saudi oil giant Aramco, potentially the biggest float of all time, Hong Kong should still be able to maintain its billing as the world’s No. 1 venue for share sales next year. But with limited tech deals on the horizon, and most in the listing queue rather staid Chinese state-owned enterprises, investors shouldn’t expect too much excitement.

Hong Kong, it seems, just isn’t a magnet for sexy, new-economy stocks. Part of it is because the city doesn’t allow dual-class ownership structures, one reason why Alibaba Group Holding Ltd plumped for New York.