Hong Kong Secures Central Asian Listings as Privatizations Shift

Hong Kong is positioning itself to intermediate Central Asia's multi-billion-dollar state privatization drive, securing commitments from major regional enterprises to list on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing market and shifting capital-raising pipelines away from traditional Western hubs like London.

"We want to make sure that we are a very accessible market when it comes to global companies wanting to explore accessing a deeper capitalising platform," said HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting.

Kazakhstan Railway and Samruk-Kazyna Pipeline

Kazakhstan's state-owned railway operator, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), has committed to a Hong Kong listing alongside an investor roadshow scheduled for June 2026. The move follows a high-profile diplomatic mission in June 2026 led by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which yielded 96 memorandums of understanding, including 61 in Kazakhstan and 35 in Uzbekistan.

Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna manages approximately $68 billion in assets. Hong Kong Trade Development Council Chairman Frederick Ma confirmed that at least one enterprise directly linked to the sovereign fund is expected to debut on HKEX in 2026.

Uzbekistan Asset Privatization Goals

Beyond Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan is expanding its private capital markets under state guidance. Uzbekistan plans to privatize more than 1,000 state-owned assets by 2026, according to First Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Bakhtiyor Khodzhaev.

During the June diplomatic push, Chinese investment bank CICC signed at least six major deals, featuring an explicit agreement to help structure and execute the privatization of Kazakh state assets through international exchanges.

Precedents and Strategic Diversification

This capital-markets pivot builds upon early milestones in cross-border listings. In August 2025, tungsten miner Jiaxin International Resources completed the first dual listing between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan, raising HK$1.2 billion in capital while seeing its shares surge as much as 178% on debut.

For HKEX, attracting Central Asian state-linked privatizations serves a structural purpose. The exchange is actively diversifying its issuer base away from historical reliance on mainland Chinese equities by capturing resource-rich Eurasian economies seeking international liquidity outside of traditional European venues.