China Tech Is Back — AI Boom Drives Hong Kong Stocks To Best Run In 8 Years

• Hong Kong and Chinese markets posted their best performance in several years last year.
• Rallies were powered by Chinese tech stocks and blockbuster IPOs.
• China’s renewed tech momentum has pushed the market back into global investor portfolios.

Chinese tech shares powered gains across Hong Kong and mainland markets in 2025, fueling optimism about China’s longer-term innovation and business outlook.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 26.7% – its best annual gain since 2017 – while the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 19.7%, its best performance in six years.

Mainland Chinese firms dominate the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), accounting for more than half of all companies listed and more than 80% of the overall market capitalization, according to broad estimates.
 

The gains, recorded in a year marked by U.S. trade tariffs and renewed Washington-Beijing tensions, underscore the momentum from China’s AI advances and a rebound in investor confidence.

Beijing stepped up its push for advanced-technology self-reliance through supportive policies, while tech leaders such as Alibaba accelerated AI rollouts and boosted capital spending.

Alibaba and Tencent, broadly seen as proxies for China’s AI development, rose 73% and 43.65% in the year, respectively. Baidu gained 59% over the year, while shares of SMIC, China’s largest contract chip maker, more than doubled.

The year saw several blockbuster debuts, including those of AI chip startups Moore Threads and MetaX, which ended the year up more than 400% from their listing prices. Stocktwits recently detailed how investor confidence in Chinese Tech drove gains for a host of companies, including semiconductors.

Overall, IPOs in Hong Kong raised nearly $34 billion across 119 listings last year, according to HKEX and reported by Reuters. All debutants finished the day above their IPO prices. 

With more than 300 companies filing to list, including IPOs from AI model developers MiniMax and Zhipu this month, and a substantial pop in Hang Seng on the first trading day, the momentum is set to carry into the new year.

In 2025, the benchmark S&P 500 rose 16.4%; the iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI), which tracks Chinese equities, and the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB), which tracks Chinese internet stocks, rose 18% and 29%, respectively. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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