Insurance funds participate in cornerstone investments in 10 Hong Kong IPO companies within the year

Byline Reporter Leng Cuihua

Since the beginning of 2026, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has continued to attract marquee companies to list. Activity in the IPO market has not waned, and insurance capital has frequently shown up on the cornerstone investor rosters of Hong Kong-listed IPO companies, with participation levels clearly increasing.

In this regard, industry insiders believe this is the result of multiple factors working together, including the downward shift in the market interest-rate “center” and an improvement in the quality of Hong Kong IPO targets. Going forward, the scope of participation by insurance capital in the Hong Kong IPO market may further expand. At the same time, it also needs to stay alert to potential risks.

Cornerstone investment enthusiasm runs high

Data from Wind Information show that as of March 17, there are 28 Hong Kong-listed IPO companies that have been listed within the year. Insurance capital has participated as cornerstone investors in 10 of those companies, with a total subscription of about 23.61 million shares and a total subscription amount of about HK$1.56B.

By comparison, for all of 2025, insurance capital participated in cornerstone investments for a total of 12 Hong Kong IPO companies: insurance capital subscribed to 80.26M shares in total across 4 companies, with a total subscription amount of HK$2.62 billion.

Cornerstone investors are investors that subscribe to shares in an initial public offering (IPO) at the offer price. They will thereby be ensured the equity they are entitled to, so they will be locked up for six months from the date of listing. Cornerstone investors are typically large financial institutions or groups, and their participation can indicate strong confidence in the IPO shares they invest in.

Specifically, within the year, there are four insurance capital entities that participated as cornerstone investors in Hong Kong IPO companies. Among them, Taikang Life Insurance participated in 7, Allianz Life participated in 2, and Taikang Insurance Group and Ping An Life each participated in 1.

Zhu Junsheng, a postdoctoral researcher and professor in applied economics at Peking University, told a reporter from The Securities Daily that this year’s increased efforts by insurance capital in cornerstone investments in Hong Kong IPO companies are mainly driven by three aspects.

First is changes in the asset allocation environment. Against the backdrop of a persistent decline in the interest-rate “center,” the yields of traditional fixed-income assets have generally fallen. Insurance funds need to appropriately increase the proportion of equity asset allocation, while keeping risks controllable, in order to maintain long-term investment return levels. Because cornerstone investments in Hong Kong IPO companies have relatively clear pricing and stable lock-up periods, to a certain extent they combine the growth potential of equity assets with investment certainty.

Second is that the Hong Kong market has provided high-quality targets. In recent years, a batch of technology innovation, biopharmaceutical, new energy, and digital economy companies have chosen to list in Hong Kong, providing relatively high-quality investment targets for long-term capital.

Third is the natural alignment between the investment mechanism and the nature of insurance capital. The cornerstone investment mechanism itself has characteristics such as clear lock-up periods, stable allocation proportions, and relatively high pricing transparency, which are well aligned with the investment characteristics of insurance capital. In addition, some insurance capital entities also hope to establish long-term capital cooperation relationships with high-quality enterprises through cornerstone investments, thereby forming a more stable investment ecosystem.

Meanwhile, judging from the targets of insurance capital’s cornerstone investments in Hong Kong IPO companies this year, its preferences show clear characteristics in the AI (artificial intelligence) and biopharmaceutical sectors. In this regard, Zhang Lingjia, CEO of Guangdong Keli Capital Management Co., Ltd., told a reporter from The Securities Daily that this is because biopharmaceuticals and other areas are core directions for national industrial upgrading, with strong policy support; and emerging fields in the new economy have high growth potential, which is essentially “a must” for investing in equity assets and is conducive to sharing in technological dividends.

Zhu Junsheng added that some AI and innovative drug companies themselves have strong global market space, and their growth potential is not limited to a single market. This also makes them more attractive to insurance funds with long-term allocation needs.

Creates a win-win effect

Active participation by insurance capital in Hong Kong cornerstone investments can create a win-win situation for insurance capital itself and the Hong Kong market.

Zhang Lingjia said that for insurance capital, cornerstone investment sits between the primary and secondary markets. Its return volatility characteristics have a lower correlation with traditional stocks and bonds. This helps smooth the overall volatility of its investment portfolio and provide more stable returns as it navigates market cycles. By investing in companies with high growth potential, insurance capital may achieve long-term returns that exceed those of traditional assets, thereby better matching its long-term liabilities.

Zhu Junsheng added that the Hong Kong market is also an important channel for overseas equity allocation of insurance funds. It helps diversify risks and promotes insurance capital to gradually enhance its ability in industry research and long-term equity investment.

For the Hong Kong market, Zhang Lingjia said that as long-term capital seeking stability and resilience, insurance capital’s active participation itself reflects recognition of the Hong Kong market and the value of specific IPO companies. It can effectively boost market confidence and enhance pricing stability.

Judging from the returns of insurance capital’s cornerstone investments in Hong Kong IPO companies, taking MINIMAX-WP as an example: its issue price was HK$165 per share. On January 9, the company officially listed on the Hong Kong market. As of the close on March 17, the share price was HK$1,033 per share. To date, Taikang Insurance Group’s investment has already generated substantial unrealized gains.

Overall, among the 28 companies listed on the Hong Kong market within the year, 24 had closing prices on the first day above the issue price. Among them, 16 companies saw gains of more than 10%, 6 companies gained more than 50%, 2 companies gained more than 100%, and 1 company gained more than 200%.

However, interviewees all emphasized that cornerstone investments have a lock-up period of at least six months, and the investment horizon is generally longer. Therefore, it is not appropriate to judge success or failure solely based on short-term share price rises or falls. Instead, attention should be focused on long-term returns. Regarding the returns of insurance capital’s cornerstone investments in Hong Kong IPO companies, more time is still needed for observation.

Future trends toward greater specialization and longer-term orientation

This year, insurance capital’s preference for cornerstone investments in Hong Kong IPO companies has risen significantly. Looking ahead, industry insiders believe insurance capital’s participation in cornerstone investments in Hong Kong IPO companies will show a trend toward greater specialization and longer-term orientation.

Zhu Junsheng believes that on the one hand, insurance capital institutions will place more emphasis on industry research capabilities and project screening capabilities, making investment decisions more prudent. On the other hand, investment focus may further concentrate on industry leaders and scarce assets—especially companies with core technology barriers and global competitiveness. At the same time, the ways insurance capital participates in capital markets may become more diversified. Besides cornerstone investments, it may also participate in Pre-IPO investments, strategic placements, and long-term equity investments. In addition, some insurance capital entities may strengthen cooperation with industrial capital or large institutional investors, improving project acquisition capabilities and risk-control capabilities through joint investments.

In Zhang Lingjia’s view, three changes are worth anticipating. First, the investment scope will be broader. It may expand from current core technology tracks such as AI and semiconductors to more emerging areas such as green energy and fintech. Second, investment strategies will become more proactive. It may no longer be limited to being passive financial investors; instead, it will more proactively “invest early, invest small, invest in hard-tech,” and deeply participate in the investee companies’ strategy formulation and resource matching. Third, cooperation models will become increasingly deepened. To obtain high-quality projects and diversify risks, insurance capital will cooperate more frequently with industrial capital, top private equity funds, and other professional institutions, and may even build an investment ecosystem through co-investments or establishing dedicated funds.

Although cornerstone investments have certain advantages, they still face risks such as price dilution (underperformance versus issue price) and lock-up liquidity risks. For example, Zhang Lingjia said that cornerstone investments have a lock-up period of at least six months. After listing, if market sentiment weakens or the secondary market continues to slide, insurance capital will face the risk of underperformance versus the issue price and will not be able to exit in a timely manner, which could lead to paper losses. In addition, hard-tech companies generally have characteristics of high growth potential, high technology risk, and high market uncertainty, which poses challenges to the traditional investment research and development (投研) system of insurance capital. It requires them to have deep industry insight and precise project-selection capabilities. Therefore, insurance capital needs to improve its investment research capabilities, mitigating risks by selecting high-quality targets with “certainty.”

Overall, interviewees believe that in a low interest-rate environment, cornerstone investments in Hong Kong IPO companies will still be an important direction for insurance capital’s allocation of equity assets. But insurance capital also needs to adhere to the principles of prudent investing and value investing, precisely seize growth opportunities, and only then can it achieve long-term, stable returns amid the wave of Hong Kong IPOs.

(Editor: Qian Xiaorui)

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