Adjustments to Stock Connect are imminent—which companies are likely to be added?

By Delin Institute of New Economy

The semi-annual Hang Seng Index review results (with a review cutoff date of June 30, 2026) will be announced after market close on August 21, 2026. The updated Hang Seng Index constituent list will directly affect the investment scope of Stock Connect.

This article provides a forward-looking report on the upcoming Stock Connect constituent adjustments, forecasting that 56 stocks will be added to Stock Connect while 14 will be removed.

Stock Connect Adjustment Rules

Stock Connect eligibility is closely tied to the Hang Seng Index. To qualify for inclusion in Stock Connect, securities must meet the following criteria:

1. H shares of A+H listed companies

2. Constituents of the Hang Seng Composite LargeCap Index

3. Constituents of the Hang Seng Composite MidCap Index

4. Constituents of the Hang Seng Composite SmallCap Index with an average market capitalization of no less than HK$5 billion over the past 12 months (or over the actual listing period if listed for less than 12 months)

The following circumstances will be excluded:

1. A-share stocks that are subject to risk warnings, suspended from listing, or in delisting proceedings will not have their corresponding H-shares included.

2. Stocks quoted and traded in currencies other than Hong Kong dollars.

3. Secondary-listed companies.

4. Other special circumstances as determined by the Shanghai Stock Exchange or Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

For companies with different voting rights structures, initial inclusion requires meeting a six-month post-listing period plus an additional 20 Hong Kong trading days, along with satisfying market capitalization requirements.

The Hang Seng Index is reviewed semi-annually, with review cut-off dates on June 30 and December 31. The results generally take effect in August or March. Typically, securities whose average free-float market capitalization over the 12 months preceding the review ranks above the 94th percentile will be added to the index, while existing constituents ranking below the 96th percentile will be removed. Additionally, they must meet a minimum monthly turnover rate of 0.05%.

Specifically, for newly listed stocks, two additional special rules apply:

Quarterly fast-track inclusion: Newly listed stocks in the first or third calendar quarters that meet large- or mid-cap market capitalization thresholds may be included in June or December.

Special fast-track inclusion: Stocks whose market capitalization on their first listing day already places them within the top 10% of the Hang Seng Composite Index by market cap may be included after 10 trading days.

This Stock Connect adjustment will be the first regular review of 2026. The final decision will be announced after market close on August 21, and the specific adjustments will take effect on September 7.

Delin expects that the inclusion threshold for this Stock Connect review will be adjusted toHK$10.156 billion, with the exclusion threshold set atHK$6.669 billion. This represents an increase from the previous Stock Connect thresholds of HK$9.3 billion and HK$6.1 billion, aligning with forecasts made earlier this year.

Projected Inclusions in Stock Connect

Figure 1: Projected list of securities expected to be included in Stock Connect, as of June 30, 2026. Source: LiveReport

Taking into account both the Stock Connect inclusion criteria and the average market capitalization of eligible securities during the review period, Delin estimates that 56 stocks will be added to Stock Connect by September 7, 2026.

Among these, three are A+H dual-listed stocks: Sanhuan Group (6951.HK), Luxshare Precision (2475.HK), and JHICC (2249.HK), which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 9, July 9, and July 10, respectively. Under Stock Connect rules, A+H dual-listed stocks become eligible for inclusion after the price stabilization period ends—i.e., within 30 days of their listing date. They are therefore expected to be added to Stock Connect around August 6 (Sanhuan Group and Luxshare Precision) and August 7 (JHICC).

Popular AI stock MiniMax-W (0100.HK), which listed in Hong Kong on January 9 this year, features a weighted voting rights structure. According to Stock Connect eligibility rules, such stocks must additionally satisfy a six-month listing requirement and have at least 20 trading days of history, making its inclusion in Stock Connect likely in early August. A similar case is Sunmi Technology-W (6810.HK), which listed on April 29 this year. As of July 31, its market cap stood at HK$23 billion, exceeding the Hang Seng Index inclusion threshold. However, due to its weighted voting rights structure, it must also fulfill the six-month listing and 20-trading-day requirements, and is thus expected to be approved for inclusion in Stock Connect around late October this year.

The remaining 52 stocks (including Sigen New Energy and Lightelligence-P, among others) meet the Hang Seng Index requirement of having a market capitalization ranking above the 94th percentile and are not subject to any exclusion criteria. They are expected to be included in the Hang Seng Index on August 21, 2026, and subsequently added to the Stock Connect eligible list during the next review.The inclusion threshold for this Stock Connect review is HK$10.156 billion, significantly higher than the previous threshold of HK$9 billion set during the last adjustment (December 31, 2025).This reflects the broader positive trend in the Hong Kong equity market since 2025.

If the Hang Seng Index’s market capitalization requirement at the 94th percentile were slightly relaxed, China Reinsurance (stock code 1508.HK, with an average daily market cap of HK$10.127 billion during the review period) and China Star Group (stock code 0326.HK, with an average daily market cap of HK$9.565 billion during the review period) would have a reasonable chance of being added to Stock Connect.

It should be noted that HASHKEY (stock code 3887.HK) and OSL (stock code 0863.HK) were already included in the Hang Seng Index in March this year. However, due to their business exposure to virtual assets, they were excluded from the last Stock Connect eligibility update. With no signs of imminent policy changes, we believe these two companies will again be ineligible for inclusion in Stock Connect this time.

Estimated Stock Connect Removal List

Figure 2: Estimated list of stocks to be removed from Stock Connect in this review, as of June 30, 2026. Source: LiveReport

This Stock Connect review is expected to remove 14 stocks whose market capitalizations have fallen below the inclusion threshold. Among them, the highest average market cap during the review period belongs to Haichang Ocean Park (stock code 2255.HK), at HK$6.636 billion. The removal threshold has risen to nearly HK$6.7 billion, a notable increase from the previous threshold of approximately HK$6.1 billion.

Figure 3: Hang Seng Composite Index and Stock Connect thresholds. Source: Compiled from public data

As of July 30, 2026, the Hong Kong IPO market has shown strong performance, with 101 listings—close to the 119 listings recorded in 2025—and total fundraising reaching HK$325.7 billion, surpassing the HK$290 billion raised in 2025. Whether these newly listed companies can maintain share prices and liquidity remains highly uncertain. Delin expects that the upward trend in the Stock Connect inclusion threshold will halt during the next Hang Seng Composite Index review scheduled for February 2027.

Author Bio:

Ma Xingkong earned his bachelor's degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and his master's from Tsinghua University. He previously served as Chief Planner of the financial talk show 'Caijing Lang Yan,' and currently holds the positions of Chief Economist at Delin Holdings and Executive Dean of the Delin Institute of New Economy. He is a licensed holder of Hong Kong SFC Type 4 license and author of bestsellers including 'Trade Capacity Shapes National Capacity,' 'Where Are Your Investment Opportunities?' and 'Hope in Times of Recession.'

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