The difficulty of winning allocations in Hong Kong IPOs has increased, sparking discussions on "retail investors losing their rights."

Data shows that this year, the difficulty of winning shares in Hong Kong IPOs has indeed increased compared to last year. Among 27 new stocks, excluding the SPAC-listed Zhaogang Group, 9 new stocks had a subscription success rate of 10% or below. Against this backdrop, the special IPO structure of CATL in Hong Kong has sparked a discussion about "retail investors losing their rights." In Hong Kong, due to the existence of the reallocation mechanism, typically popular new stocks will tilt somewhat towards retail investors to increase their allocation rate. However, this time CATL applied to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for an exemption from the reallocation mechanism, ensuring that the portion allocated to retail investors is fixed at 7.5%, while institutional investors received over 90% of the "cake." It is important to note that CATL's decision is not an isolated case; the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is systematically reducing the influence of retail investors in the IPO process. In February of this year, HKEX Group CEO Charles Li mentioned when interpreting the proposed reforms for new stock pricing that increasing the proportion of new stocks allocated to book-building is intended to allow the most price-capable buyers and sellers to fully negotiate, maximizing the reflection of market demand in the new stock price, and minimizing price fluctuations after the new stock is listed to avoid large swings in stock prices