Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), which operates Asia’s third-largest stock exchange, reported record high annual profit for the second straight year, thanks to higher market turnover and robust listing activity, it said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.

Net profit in 2025 increased 36 per cent to HK$17.75 billion (US$2.28 billion), or HK$14.05 per share, from HK$13 billion a year earlier, which was also a record. The result beat market expectations of HK$17.44 billion.

The bourse operator proposed a second interim dividend of HK$6.52 per share, bringing the total to HK$12.52 for the year, versus HK$9.26 in 2024, and maintaining the payout at 90 per cent of earnings.

Net profit in the final three months of 2025 also jumped 15 per cent to HK$4.34 billion, from HK$3.78 billion a year earlier. This also beat the market estimate at HK$3.8 billion.

“In 2025, HKEX reinforced its role as a global superconnector, regained its position as the world’s leading venue for IPOs and set new trading as well as financial performance records,” HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting said in the result announcement.

“While we expect volatility to persist amid the prevailing macro landscape in 2026, we also see cause for optimism in capital markets as global investors adjust to the ongoing uncertainty of an increasingly multipolar world by seeking diversification and risk management opportunities in Asian, and specifically Chinese, assets. “