Bank Wealth Management Subsidiary "Digging for Gold" in the Hong Kong Stock IPO Market

Staff Reporter Xiong Yue

Since the beginning of this year, the Hong Kong stock IPO market has continued its hot trend, attracting global investors to rush for high-potential, quality targets across various sectors. As one of the sources of funds for IPO “subscribing,” bank wealth management subsidiaries are turning their attention to the Hong Kong IPO market, positioning themselves as cornerstone and anchor investors in “hard technology” to seek higher product returns.

Notably, several bank wealth management subsidiaries have participated in Hong Kong IPO “subscribing,” with some reaping substantial gains. Experts interviewed said that currently, bank wealth management subsidiaries are in a period of deep transformation. Their traditional business model focused on fixed income assets faces bottlenecks, and they urgently need to enhance product yields and differentiate competitiveness through equity investments. The Hong Kong IPO “subscribing” is a high-quality, low-threshold way to access the equity market.

Strong Investment Performance

According to data, China Industrial Bank Wealth Management (hereinafter “CIB Wealth Management”), China Post Wealth Management (hereinafter “China Post Wealth”), and China Merchants Bank Wealth Management (hereinafter “CMB Wealth”) are among the bank subsidiaries involved in Hong Kong IPO cornerstone or anchor investments.

Public information shows that since 2025, CIB Wealth Management has participated in over 25 Hong Kong IPO investments, with the latest weighted return exceeding 50%. China Post Wealth started deploying in Hong Kong IPOs in 2024, focusing on TMT, advanced manufacturing, emerging consumer, and healthcare sectors. CMB Wealth previously disclosed that it successfully allocated shares of a leading domestic aluminum industry chain enterprise, with 11 products involved and over 10 million yuan allocated.

Meanwhile, some bank subsidiaries involved in Hong Kong IPOs have achieved impressive investment results early in the year.

According to CIB Wealth Management, as of January 16, 2026, all 10 of its Hong Kong IPO investments have realized positive returns, with a 100% success rate and a maximum single-increase of 165.45%. The projects focus on semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, and high-end equipment, such as domestic storage chip leader GigaDevice, AI pharmaceutical leader Yingxian Smart, domestic GPU core company Biran Technology, and Tianshu Zhixin.

China Post Wealth also has a Hong Kong IPO strategy. Since the start of the year, its Hong Kong IPO investments have performed well, with cornerstone heavy positions achieving significant gains on the first day. Key projects include memory chip leader Lankei Technology and image sensor chip leader OmniVision. The company also invests in chemical new materials firms such as Guoen Technology, MINIMAX, and Biran Technology.

“Hong Kong IPO ‘subscribing’ is becoming an important path for bank wealth management subsidiaries to expand equity assets and diversify cross-market allocations,” said Zeng Gang, Director of the Shanghai Financial and Development Laboratory.

Xue Hongyan, a special researcher at Sushang Bank, told Securities Daily that, based on current practice, the participation of bank wealth management subsidiaries in Hong Kong IPO “subscribing” has formed a pattern led by top institutions, focusing on hard technology sectors, with product forms extending toward inclusive finance. From the product perspective, “subscribing” products are characterized by a “stable core + excess subscribing” structure, gradually expanding from high-threshold products for private banking clients to more inclusive products, allowing ordinary investors to participate in Hong Kong IPOs.

Taking CIB Wealth Management as an example, the company has launched three “Fixed Income + Hong Kong IPO” strategy products, all rated PR3 (medium risk). Two are sold to private banking clients, and one is open to individual investors via online banks.

Resource Endowment Differences

Experts interviewed believe that with the continuous decline in yields of traditional fixed income assets, bank wealth management urgently needs yield-enhancing tools. The relatively high certainty of returns from A-share and Hong Kong IPO “subscribing” makes it an important strategy for bank subsidiaries to boost product yields and improve cross-market asset allocation capabilities. Currently, the “subscribing” market shows features of concentration among top players and strategy iteration and upgrading.

Since last year’s opening of A-share IPO subscriptions to bank wealth management subsidiaries, institutions like Ningbo Bank Wealth Management, Xingye Bank Wealth Management, and Everbright Wealth Management have begun experimenting with A-share “subscribing.” Meanwhile, CIB Wealth Management, China Post Wealth, and CMB Wealth have focused on Hong Kong IPO “subscribing.”

Experts believe that the differentiation in the layout of A-share and Hong Kong IPO “subscribing” among bank subsidiaries reflects significant differences in resource endowment, risk appetite, and strategic positioning.

Dong Danuo, a researcher at Puyi Standard, told Securities Daily that, from the perspective of resource endowment and capability boundaries, leading bank subsidiaries with strong capital and broad research coverage are more suited for large-scale Hong Kong cornerstone investments and meet high research requirements; smaller institutions, limited by capital and research strength, tend to prefer lower-threshold, familiar A-share offline “subscribing.”

“From the perspective of risk appetite and return goals, A-share ‘subscribing’ offers stable returns, suitable for risk-averse institutions pursuing absolute returns; Hong Kong ‘subscribing’ has higher potential returns but also higher volatility and risk of breaking the issue, making it more suitable for risk-tolerant institutions seeking relative gains. Additionally, institutions focusing on high-net-worth clients target scarce Hong Kong assets to meet diversified client needs, while those targeting retail investors emphasize the stability of A-share ‘subscribing,’ aligning with ordinary investors’ risk preferences,” Dong said.

Zeng Gang believes that institutions focusing on A-share “subscribing” rely more on local research networks, offline channels, and existing A-share holdings, better serving clients seeking steady, controllable returns. Conversely, institutions inclined toward Hong Kong “subscribing” typically possess stronger cross-border operations, foreign exchange management, and overseas research capabilities, aiming for higher returns by targeting high-growth tech and innovation sectors.

“Moreover, the current listing of high-quality companies in Hong Kong’s hard tech and innovative fields provides abundant investment targets for bank subsidiaries; policy improvements make participation channels smoother, and cornerstone or anchor investor models can lock in stable allotments, aligning with conservative investment preferences,” Dong added.

Multiple Challenges Ahead

Overall, only some bank subsidiaries are active in A-share and Hong Kong IPO “subscribing,” mainly top institutions. Experts point out that there are still institutional and qualification barriers, insufficient research and pricing capabilities, and risks related to risk control and compliance.

“Offline A-share ‘subscribing’ has clear minimum holdings requirements, which most bank subsidiaries with fixed income-focused assets cannot meet for large-scale participation; Hong Kong cornerstone investing requires large sums and cross-border qualification reviews, demanding high cross-border investment capabilities,” Dong said. “Valuation of ‘hard tech’ and unprofitable innovative stocks is difficult, and traditional fixed income research systems are hard to adapt, leading to potential mispricing; Hong Kong’s internationalization and global capital flows, exchange rate fluctuations further increase the difficulty of analysis. Additionally, cross-market investments require comprehensive risk management across market, liquidity, and compliance risks; balancing product liquidity and returns under new stock lock-in rules tests asset allocation and product design capabilities.”

Zeng Gang suggests that bank subsidiaries can optimize strategies accordingly: in A-shares, strengthen pricing research and compliance management, optimize core holdings, and improve pricing accuracy; in Hong Kong, build professional cross-border research teams, use foreign exchange tools to hedge currency risks, and reasonably control lock-in periods and investment concentration. They should also improve cross-market risk control systems, match target assets with product risk levels, and adopt an “A+H” coordinated layout to diversify risks while steadily increasing “subscribing” returns and investment stability.

(Edited by Qian Xiaorui)

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