The Great Convergence in the Desert
Riyadh, October 31, 2025. The desert air is thin, but the liquidity is thick. Bonnie Chan, the architect of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) most aggressive pivot in a decade, stood on the stage of the Fortune Global Forum this week. Her message was clear. The era of the siloed exchange is dead. The event, held under the theme of The Great Convergence, marks a tectonic shift in how capital moves between the East and the Gulf. As Western markets grapple with regulatory fragmentation and geopolitical friction, Chan is following the money to the heart of the Vision 2030 initiative.
Following the Saudi Hong Kong Capital Corridor
The numbers do not lie. Within the last forty-eight hours, the Albilad CSOP MSCI Hong Kong China Equity ETF has seen a surge in volume on the Tadawul, reflecting a deepening appetite for Chinese assets among Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. This is not a generic partnership. It is a technical integration. Per the latest Reuters reports from the forum, the cross-listing of ETFs has already channeled over 1.3 billion dollars in new liquidity through the Hong Kong-Riyadh corridor. The risk of over-reliance on USD-denominated assets is driving this migration. The reward is a resilient, dual-engine growth model that bypasses traditional Western gatekeepers.
Comparative Market Strength October 2025
| Metric | HKEX (0388.HK) | Saudi Tadawul |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Trading Volume (Avg) | HK$128 Billion | SAR 8.4 Billion |
| Market Capitalization | US$4.2 Trillion | US$2.9 Trillion |
| Cross-Border ETF AUM | US$1.35 Billion | US$1.18 Billion |
| Listed Issuers | 2,642 | 314 |
Technical Mechanics of the Riyadh Pivot
The strategy hinges on the Recognised Stock Exchange (RSE) status. By adding the Saudi Exchange, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, and Dubai Financial Market to its RSE list, HKEX has effectively cleared the regulatory brush for secondary listings. This allows a Saudi oil giant or a Dubai tech unicorn to list in Hong Kong with minimal additional paperwork. The technical barrier to entry has been lowered to a floor. According to data tracked by Bloomberg Intelligence, the HKEX stock price closed at approximately HK$412.50 on October 30, reflecting investor confidence in this non-Western expansion. The logic is simple. If the West is closing doors, the East and the Gulf will build a new hallway.
Visualization of Global ETF Flow Growth
The Death of Competition
Bonnie Chan noted that the future of exchanges is not about outcompeting rivals; it is about infrastructure interoperability. The London Metal Exchange (LME), a subsidiary of HKEX, recently established two new delivery points in Jeddah. This turns Saudi Arabia into a physical hub for Asian metal trading. The synergy is undeniable. While the New York Stock Exchange continues to focus on domestic tech, HKEX is positioning itself as the clearinghouse for the Global South. This is the new alpha. Investors who ignore this corridor are betting against the fastest-growing sovereign wealth pools on the planet.
The next specific milestone is already on the horizon. Watch for the official opening of the HKEX Riyadh office in January 2026. This physical presence will be the catalyst for the first major Saudi-based primary listing in Hong Kong, a move expected to test a valuation north of 50 billion dollars in the first quarter of the new year.
