According to the Financial Times, HSBC is going "all in" on rebuilding its investment banking business in Hong Kong after missing out on the 2025 IPO boom. This follows the bank's earlier decision to exit parts of its operations in the UK, the US, and Europe. "If there is one area where we are going all in, it is to expand and elevate our market share in Hong Kong's IPO market," Michael Roberts, Head of Corporate and Investment Banking at HSBC, told the Financial Times. Last year, Hong Kong spearheaded the recovery of Asia's IPO market, raising over HKD 286 billion and reclaiming its position as the world's top venue for IPO fundraising. Data from Dealogic reveals that HSBC acted as a joint sponsor for only one out of the 119 new listings in Hong Kong in 2025—Zhaogang Group (06676.HK), which went public via a SPAC merger. Although HSBC ranked tenth in the Asia-Pacific equity capital markets league tables last year, largely due to strong performance in India, it missed the IPO boom in its home market of Hong Kong. "The Hong Kong market was truly disappointing," a senior HSBC executive stated. The executive pointed out that following the decision to exit investment banking in the UK, US, and parts of Europe, several senior investment bankers in Hong Kong departed for competitors. The executive added that HSBC "did indeed lose some talent we shouldn't have lost, but that's normal," describing it as "necessary growing pains" to achieve the restructuring plan announced by CEO Georges Elhedery upon taking office in September 2024, which is expected to yield annual cost savings of £1.5 billion. Elhedery's decision to shut down HSBC's trading and equity capital markets businesses outside of Asia and the Middle East, citing their poor league table performance, stands as one of the most controversial moves of his tenure. At the FT's banking summit last December, Elhedery stated he would "double down" on HSBC's mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets businesses in the Middle East and Asia. "We are not in the top five today, but we see a path to being in the top five. Not being in the top five is unacceptable," he said. Roberts has formulated a plan to expand HSBC's equity capital markets business by recruiting investment bankers from mainland China, aiming to capitalize on the wave of Chinese companies listing in Hong Kong—a trend he expects to continue. "Hong Kong is the bridge for China to the world, that is its mission," he said. "This is good for Hong Kong and good for us. I think we were a little late in adding resources, but we have an aggressive plan to add resources in China," Roberts added. The booming Hong Kong IPO market, especially when contrasted with the scarcity of listings in London, provides some validation for CEO Elhedery's strategy to focus the investment bank's resources on Asia and the Middle East. "There are more IPOs in Hong Kong now than in London," Roberts noted. "If you are HSBC, where are you going to place your bets? Of course, where the growth is fastest."