Hong Kong's market operator HKEX will let all IPO candidates file prospectuses confidentially, expanding a privilege previously reserved for high-growth tech and biotech groups. The move mirrors the US, which has offered confidential filing since 2012 for growth companies and 2017 for almost everyone, benefiting firms like SpaceX and Anthropic.

Yet Hong Kong's real competition isn't New York but Shanghai and Shenzhen. More than four-fifths of Hong Kong's IPO proceeds over 20 years came from mainland Chinese companies, per Dealogic. Since Di Di faced a regulatory probe days after its 2021 New York float, the 129 Chinese and Hong Kong firms listing stateside have been minnows, raising an average $35mn each.

Mainland exchanges are gaining momentum, with Shanghai celebrating memory-chip maker CXMT's riotous debut. Chinese firms can't easily list abroad without government approval, as Shein's long wait shows. With 534 companies in Hong Kong's IPO queue and two-fifths not yet public, the confidential filing option may attract takers, but it looks more a gesture of global competitiveness than a game-changer.