HONG KONG - ⁠Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, the city's bourse ‌operator, posted record full-year profit Thursday as global investors turned to Chinese assets ​amid global economic uncertainty.

The exchange said net profit rose 36% ​to HK$17.7 billion ($2.3 ​billion) last year from HK$13.1 billion in 2024, in line with estimates from 11 analysts compiled by ⁠LSEG.

HKEX shares trimmed earlier losses to be down 0.2% after the result, while wider market down 0.5%.

The result underscores Hong Kong's advantage over other listing venues as a preferred ​venue ‌for Chinese companies ⁠to raise capital ⁠offshore, even at a time of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The ​exchange said it saw a robust ‌listing pipeline, with more than 400 ⁠active applications.

Trading activity shot up 93% in 2025 from a year earlier. Trading volume under the southbound Stock Connect scheme surged 151% in 2025 as mainland investors increased allocations to Hong Kong-listed shares.

Chief Executive Bonnie Chan said she expects 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," she said in a statement.

HKEX said it would pay a ​second interim ‌dividend payment of HK$6.52 per share.

($1 = 7.8216 Hong ⁠Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Selena ​Li; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Stephen Coates)