More than 30 mainland Chinese companies preparing for initial public offerings in Hong Kong are at risk of having their listing applications expire within the next two weeks.
The firms are currently awaiting final approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), a bottleneck that has effectively frozen a significant portion of the city's prospective listing pipeline.
The delay underscores the persistent friction between Hong Kong's market ambitions and mainland regulatory oversight.
Companies that have spent months or years navigating the listing process now face the prospect of restarting their applications if they do not receive the necessary nod from Beijing in time.
This uncertainty adds another layer of complexity to an already challenging environment for cross-border capital raising.
The stalled pipeline comes amid growing calls for Hong Kong to launch an IPO Connect scheme, a mechanism designed to allow mainland Chinese investors to participate directly in initial public offerings listed in the city.