Hong Kong and Malaysia will work together to expand access to capital and deepen cross-border participation in both markets as they look to attract more international investment.
The securities regulators from Hong Kong and Malaysia signed an agreement on Thursday to simplify the framework for dual listings of initial public offerings. They also agreed to widen the range of products eligible for mutual recognition, particularly non-Islamic exchange-traded funds and real estate investment trusts, and allow covered funds to be cross-listed in both markets.
The linkage underscores Hong Kong’s efforts to reduce its reliance on China as geopolitical risks remain a persistent overhang. The financial hub has been courting firms and capital from the Middle East and Southeast Asia, even as it is on track for a six-year high in IPO fundraising.
"Our investor base is quite international but we also want our products, be it companies, listed stocks or funds to be international,” said Julia Leung, chief executive officer of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission.
"So we want to bring a spectrum of things and we see a lot of opportunities in Southeast Asia.”
The collaboration could also boost Malaysia’s appeal to global investors as the local bourse seeks to attract larger technology listings and foreign firms this year. Bursa Malaysia has seen a revival in new share sales, with IPOs raising $1.41 billion in the first five months of the year, already matching the amount raised in all of 2025.
To facilitate the cross-listings of equities, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd. added Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd. to its list of Recognised Stock Exchange. The HKEX has in recent years expanded the list to exchanges in Thailand and Indonesia to enable their listed firms to seek a secondary listing in Hong Kong.
In March, HKEX and Bursa Malaysia launched a co-branded index to track the top 30 largest listed companies on each exchange. The benchmark allows Malaysian companies to tap Chinese mainland investors via the trading link known as ETF Connect. - Bloomberg
