US investors pour into Hong Kong, China equities with largest quarterly inflow in 3 years


US investor sentiment towards Hong Kong and China equities has shifted notably, with US$14 billion in inflows over the three-month period to the end of February – the largest quarterly inflow in more than three years – lifting total holdings to US$466 billion, a record high, according to a BNP Paribas report on Thursday.

“This may suggest a shift in the willingness of US capital owners to allocate more capital to Chinese equities after the substantive outflows seen between 2021 and the first half of 2025,” said William Bratton, head of cash equity research of Asia-Pacific at BNP Paribas, in the report.

Before the start of the US-Israel war on Iran on February 28, US resident investors were active in buying Asian equities, the latest data from the US Treasury International Capital (TIC) system showed.

Hong Kong initial public offerings (IPOs) were attracting strong overseas demand as global funds rebuilt their exposure to China after years of underinvestment, said Bonnie Chan Yiting, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.

Bonnie Chan Yiting, CEO of HKEX, speaks at the Chinese New Year Market Open Celebration on February 20, 2026. Photo: Karma Lo
Bonnie Chan Yiting, CEO of HKEX, speaks at the Chinese New Year Market Open Celebration on February 20, 2026. Photo: Karma Lo
On the “cornerstone front”, last year saw “a very strong pickup by international investors” with orders from North America, Europe and the rest of Asia, Chan said at the HSBC Global Investment Summit on Wednesday. “The world has realised that they are underinvested in China.”

Hong Kong’s current ranking as the world’s top IPO venue represented an “impressive rebound” given today’s geopolitical uncertainty, Chan added.

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