Key Takeaways:
Just four years after its launch, the Beijing Stock Exchange has quietly boomed this year by helping 38 startups raise about $1 billion
The exchange is currently vetting another 172 IPO candidates, more than quadruple the number for both the rival STAR and ChiNext markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen
Hong Kong maybe basking in the glow of an IPO frenzy that has made it the world's hottest market for new listings this year. But to the north in China's capital, a quieter, but also impressive, frenzy is shaping up on the Beijing Stock Exchange, once seen as a capital markets backwater. That quieter rush is drawing in throngs of listing hopefuls and investors seeking to tap into growing enthusiasm toward technology startups.
The bourse, kicked off by President Xi Jinping four years ago to help fund innovative small companies, has hosted 38 IPOs in 2025, up over 50% from last year. That puts it on track to beat out the similarly startup-focused STAR Market in Shanghai and ChiNext in Shenzhen in terms of new listings.
The previously overlooked exchange is also currently vetting more IPO candidates than its two bigger rivals combined, thanks to surging investor interest in small-cap tech stocks. Analysts expect the momentum to extend into next year, as Beijing seeks to bolster the exchange's role as a venue to fund China's "little giants," which are key to a national strategy toward supply chain independence, tech self-reliance and economic upgrading.
The Beijing Stock Exchange is helping companies "transform from being ‘small and beautiful' to ‘strong and lasting,'" China Galaxy Securities said in its 2026 strategy report. "It also helps China develop a multi-tier capital market system" that can finance companies in various stages of their life cycles, it added.
IPO hub
In 2025, Chinese startups raised 7.2 billion yuan ($1 billion) via IPOs on the Beijing Stock Exchange. While that amount is still modest compared with the roughly $36.8 billion raised in Hong Kong IPOs this year, it's still up ...
