The Hong Kong IPO market continues to reinvent itself, with subscription multiples reaching unprecedented levels that challenge conventional expectations. On October 10, Golden Empire International Group (08549) achieved a remarkable milestone by becoming the first Hong Kong stock in history to record a "10,000x subscription," with its public offering oversubscribed by more than 11,500 times, pushing retail investor enthusiasm to extraordinary heights.

As the first company to list on Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) this year, Golden Empire's fundraising scale was exceptionally modest, creating conditions for such astounding subscription levels. The stock closed at HK$2.15 on its debut day, representing a spectacular 330% surge from its HK$0.50 offering price, with trading volume reaching HK$130 million, demonstrating intense market attention.

Golden Empire represents merely the tip of the iceberg in this year's explosive Hong Kong IPO phenomenon. A more profound trend emerges: as of now, 18 new stocks have achieved over 1,000x oversubscription during the year. Simultaneously, the first-day debut failure rate has plummeted to 23.18%, reaching a nine-year low.

The robust return of money-making effects is not without foundation. Research analysis indicates that this phenomenon is supported by three solid pillars: institutional reforms, capital availability, and industry transformation. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange's continuous institutional optimization has attracted more companies; abundant market liquidity has provided ammunition for IPO applications; and the increasing proportion of new economy companies has reshaped the market's industry logic.

Beneath this heated landscape, cornerstone investors, who serve as the "anchor" of Hong Kong IPOs, reveal the market's deeper rational choices through their evolving investment strategies. A distinctive characteristic of this year's market is the increasing concentration of capital toward high-quality leading enterprises. Leading companies, with their clear business models and robust growth prospects, are better positioned to attract long-term, large-scale cornerstone investments, which not only safeguards successful IPO launches but also reinforces market money-making effects, creating a positive cycle.

**The Era of "10,000x" Subscriptions**

2025 has undoubtedly brought massive changes to Hong Kong stocks. As Hong Kong IPO fundraising totals lead globally, enthusiasm for Hong Kong new stock applications has returned. Wind data shows that as of October 10, among the 69 new stocks listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this year, all except Yibin Bank were oversubscribed. Forty-six stocks achieved public subscriptions exceeding 100x, 18 exceeded 1,000x, and five broke through 5,000x.

Golden Empire's 11,500x subscription pushed market enthusiasm to its peak, not only breaking historical records but becoming the "oversubscription king" in Hong Kong stock history.

As the first new stock to debut on Hong Kong's GEM in 2025, Golden Empire's explosive performance was not accidental. According to the prospectus, the company is a well-established local mechanical and electrical engineering contractor in Hong Kong, with annual revenue of just over HK$100 million and annual profits in the tens of millions range. This IPO raised only HK$50 million in total, with net proceeds of merely HK$31.3 million after deducting listing expenses, qualifying as a "mini IPO."

More critically, the public offering portion represented only 10%, corresponding to just HK$5 million available for retail subscription, with a one-lot winning rate of only 0.5%. This scarcity resonated strongly with market enthusiasm for new stock applications.

Notably, this 10,000x subscription represents healthy growth following regulatory deleveraging. Reviewing 2024, brokers provided high-leverage financing facilities that enabled investors to "amplify small investments," thereby inflating new stock subscription multiples. After the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission ended "100x leverage for new stock applications" in March 2025, oversubscriptions no longer relied on capital leverage but stemmed from industry value recognition and natural capital inflows.

Compared to 2024's full-year performance of only 5 new stocks exceeding 1,000x subscriptions (7% proportion), 2025's proportion has risen to 26%, showing significant market structure optimization.

**Three-Pillar Support Behind Money-Making Effects**

New stock investment returns serve as catalysts for market enthusiasm. Wind data shows that among this year's 69 listed new stocks, only 16 experienced debut losses, bringing the failure rate down to 23.18%. Forty-six stocks rose on their first day, representing a 66.67% probability of first-day gains, with an average first-day increase of 37.63%. Golden Empire International Group, which listed today, recorded the highest first-day gain of 330%.

Moreover, several new stocks have maintained upward momentum after listing. As of October 10's close, among new stocks listed this year, the three Hong Kong stocks with the highest interval gains were Jacobio Pharmaceuticals-B with a 408.51% increase, PharmaEssentia Corp-B with a 350.26% increase, and Jiangsu Hongxin with a 176% increase.

Research analysis points out that this "high return, low risk" pattern formation relies on strong support from three aspects: policy, capital, and industry.

First, at the policy level, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange continues advancing institutional innovation to "unleash and empower" the market. In December 2024, the exchange launched "Proposals to Optimize IPO Market Pricing and Public Markets," simplifying approval processes and optimizing pricing mechanisms. In August 2025, it further revised public market regulations to make new stock pricing more aligned with market demand.

Second, regarding capital, global liquidity easing has injected "fresh water" into Hong Kong stocks. The Federal Reserve began its rate-cutting cycle in 2025, accelerating global capital flows toward emerging markets, with Hong Kong's stock market maintaining stable daily average turnover above HK$200 billion. Abundant liquidity not only supported successful launches of mega new stocks like CATL's H-shares but also drove overall market valuation recovery.

Third, on the industry front, Hong Kong IPOs' "diversified puzzle" is gradually taking shape. In the first three quarters of 2025, Hong Kong's new stock market exhibited a "technology + consumption" dual-engine drive pattern. Among new stocks achieving over 1,000x subscriptions, despite varied industry distributions, they generally share common characteristics: focus on high-growth sectors such as pharmaceutical biotechnology, durable consumer goods, semiconductors, and new energy; and establishment of solid core technology barriers. These technology moats not only give companies competitive advantages but also serve as protective barriers against market risks.

**Cornerstone Investors Favor High-Barrier, Large-Cap Projects**

Data shows that 57 Hong Kong new stocks had cornerstone investor participation this year, representing 86.4%. A total of 324 cornerstone participants were involved (before deduplication), averaging 5.7 cornerstone investors per new stock. Cornerstone investors' total subscription amount reached HK$74.2 billion, accounting for over 40% of total IPO fundraising.

Cornerstone investor subscriptions in Hong Kong's 2025 IPO market display distinct characteristics. Looking at the top 20 Hong Kong IPO cornerstone subscriptions this year, leading projects became the focus of cornerstone capital pursuit.

In terms of total fundraising, CATL (03750) topped the list with HK$41.006 billion raised, with cornerstone investors subscribing HK$20.371 billion, representing 57.13%, demonstrating leading projects' capital attraction power. Zijin Gold International raised HK$24.984 billion, with cornerstone subscriptions reaching HK$12.468 billion at 52.53%, also highly favored by cornerstone capital. In contrast, Zhengli New Energy, ranked lower, raised only HK$1.005 billion, showing significant scale differences.

Regarding cornerstone investor numbers, large projects maintain clear advantages. CATL attracted 23 cornerstone investors, while Zijin Gold International secured 29, demonstrating their market appeal. Projects like FWD Group, with relatively smaller fundraising scales, obtained support from only 2 cornerstone investors, reflecting smaller IPO projects' limited attraction for cornerstone capital.

From cornerstone proportion analysis, multiple projects show impressive cornerstone ratios. CATL, Zijin Gold International, FWD Group, and Zhengli New Energy all exceeded 40% cornerstone participation, with Zhengli New Energy reaching 61.79%. High cornerstone proportions indicate cornerstone investors' strong confidence in project prospects and willingness to lock in substantial shares, establishing solid foundations for project launches.

However, cornerstone proportions vary among different projects, with Chifeng Gold and AUX Electric showing relatively lower cornerstone participation, indicating market recognition differences across projects.