- Citic Securities topped Asia-Pacific ex-Japan investment-banking fees in 2025 with US$1.45 billion (5.8% share), up 29% year over year.
- It also led Asia-Pacific bond underwriting, acting as top bookrunner on about US$299 billion of issuance (~6% market share).
- Regional equity issuance rebounded, with total ECM proceeds of US$259.7 billion including US$67.3 billion of IPOs (~50% YoY) and US$148.1 billion of follow-ons.
- Chinese banks filled the top five fee ranks, helped by China/Hong Kong policy support for IPOs and yuan-denominated issuance.
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The latest LSEG data for 2025 confirms a significant shift in the Asia-Pacific investment banking landscape: domestic Chinese banks, led by Citic Securities, have moved decisively into top billing in fee generation, driven by strong bond and IPO underwriting performance. Citic’s US$1.45 billion in investment banking fees reflects both the volume of issuance and success in winning mandates across ECM and debt capital markets; its gain in market share underscores its growing competitive strength.
Bond underwriting stands out: Citic claimed ~6 % market share in Asia-Pacific-issued bonds, approximately US$299 billion in proceeds. This shows depth in access to debt issuers, particularly Chinese and possibly dim-sum bond issuers, reflecting demand for yuan-denominated bonds and favourable regulatory frameworks in Hong Kong.
On the equity side, IPOs and follow-on offerings have rebounded sharply. IPOs raised US$67.3 billion, up about 50 % from 2024, while follow-ons hit a four-year high of US$148.1 billion. These figures highlight renewed issuer confidence and an improving investor appetite, especially for China-related issuers, aided by easing regulatory scrutiny and improving market sentiment; prior reports also indicated China’s equity issuance surged ~119 % year-over-year in Q1 2025, signaling early pull of momentum.
Nevertheless, competitive intensity and margin pressures are rising. Chinese underwriters are accepting very low fees (in some cases very small basis points or flat fees) to win mandates, especially in bond underwriting, prompting concerns over sustainability. Also, while overall IB fees in the region jumped ~19 % to US$24.9 billion, larger global peers and Western banks remain further down the fee standings in APAC ex-Japan, suggesting a redistribution of fee pools.
Strategically, this positions Chinese banks to dominate capital markets activity in APAC over the near term. Hong Kong’s role as a multicurrency issuance hub, and policy support from regulators, will likely further bolster this trend. Yet open questions remain: how durable is issuer confidence, will fee compression erode margins, and how will geopolitical, currency, and regulatory risk factors influence the attractiveness for non-domestic banks?
Supporting Notes
- Citic Securities generated US$1.45 billion in investment banking fees in Asia-Pacific ex-Japan in 2025, representing 5.8 % of the regional fee pool; a 29 % increase YoY and a 0.4 point gain in market share.
- It was the top bookrunner for Asia-Pacific-issued bonds, securing ~US$299 billion in bond proceeds and ~6 % share.
- The top five fee earners in APAC (ex-Japan) are all Chinese banks: Citic, China Securities, Bank of China, China International Capital Corporation (CICC), Guotai Haitong; Morgan Stanley ranked sixth.
- Total APAC investment banking fees rose ~19 % in 2025 to US$24.9 billion; this equals ~18 % of global IB fees, with Americas and Europe accounting for ~55 % and ~21 %, respectively.
- ECM activity: total proceeds hit US$259.7 billion; IPOs raised US$67.3 billion (≈+50 % YoY), follow-on offerings reached US$148.1 billion (a four-year high).
- Morgan Stanley led APAC ECM underwriting with ~8.5 % market share and US$22 billion in proceeds; Goldman Sachs led M&A advisory with ~12.9 % share and US$127 billion in transaction value.
- Hong Kong and regulators are supporting more yuan-denominated issuance: dim sum bond issuance by Chinese companies in HK on track for record year in 2025; Baidu raised 4.5 billion yuan in a dim sum bond in September and another 10 billion in March.
- Citic’s HK branch sponsored about one-third of all IPO applications in Hong Kong as of October 2025.