Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), which operates Asia's third-largest stock exchange, reported record annual profit on higher market turnover and a surge in new listings amid a market rally that started in September.

Net profit in 2024 increased 10 per cent to HK$13 billion (US$1.7 billion), or HK$10.32 per share, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday, beating the previous record of HK$12.5 billion in 2021. It was also better than the market expectation of HK$12.94 billion.

HKEX proposed paying a second interim dividend of HK$4.90 per share, bringing the total to HK$9.26 for the year, versus HK$8.41 in 2023, and maintaining the payout ratio at 90 per cent of earnings.

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Profit in the final three months of 2024 jumped 46 per cent to HK$3.78 billion, exceeding the market estimate of HK$3.7 billion. The group benefited from the stock market rally from September when interest rates began to fall and China announced stimulus measures to support the economy and shore up equity and property prices.

HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan said the market rally late last year helped HKEX report its highest-ever annual revenue and profit. Photo: Nora Tam alt=HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan said the market rally late last year helped HKEX report its highest-ever annual revenue and profit. Photo: Nora Tam>

"HKEX achieved significant strategic progress in 2024, with the implementation of key initiatives to enhance its market microstructure and listing franchise," CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting said in her first full-year result announcement after taking over the helm from Nicolas Aguzin in March last year.

These ongoing efforts have reinforced Hong Kong's position as a leading international financial centre and, along with the market rally in the third and fourth quarter, helped HKEX report its highest-ever annual revenue and profit, she added.

HKEX shares fell 1 per cent to HK$357.40 at 1.07pm local time after the earnings announcement, in line with the benchmark Hang Seng Index's 1 per cent decline.

The exchange operator said average daily market turnover rose 26 per cent to HK$131.8 billion in 2024, with the market enjoying its busiest day on October 8 as turnover surged to HK$620.7 billion. The higher turnover boosted trading fee income by 24 per cent, the results showed.

The Stock Connect scheme turnover also hit a record high last year, generating HK$2.7 billion of income for HKEX.

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The surge in turnover came amid a rally triggered by the first US interest-rate cut in four years in September, followed by Beijing's stimulus package in the same month. The Hang Seng Index jumped 18 per cent last year, with a rally in tech stocks lifting the benchmark index by another 21 per cent this year.

An improved market sentiment attracted more share listings, which boosted HKEX's fee income. Companies raised HK$88 billion of proceeds from initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2024, an increase of 89 per cent from a year earlier. Midea Group's HK$35.6 billion deal in September was the world's second-largest IPO in 2024.

Meanwhile, HKEX booked a HK$1.7 billion net investment gain in its portfolio of global stock and bond holdings last year, an increase of 18 per cent from HK$1.5 billion in 2023.

Futures contracts rose 12 per cent year on year to 830,000 per day on average last year, while stock options contracts climbed by 18 per cent to 720,000 per day.

The stock exchange also handled a record 41.6 billion yuan (US$5.73 billion) of transactions in yuan-denominated bonds by offshore investors through the Bond Connect scheme, an increase of 4 per cent from a year earlier.

"As we look to 2025, a year in which HKEX will celebrate its 25th anniversary as a listed company, I am very optimistic that we will continue to work together to strengthen Hong Kong's role as a leading international financial centre," Chan said.

She also said HKEX would upgrade its system to prepare for the shortening of the settlement time from two days after the transaction to one day.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, in his budget speech on Wednesday, said the exchange was working on setting up a "technology enterprises channel" to help specialist technology and biotechnology companies, especially those listed in mainland China, seek listings in Hong Kong.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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