Premium for mainland China shares erodes – or flips – as capital flows to Hong Kong

A long-standing pricing gap between the mainland China-listed and Hong Kong shares of dual-listed companies has narrowed – and in some cases reversed – as global investors re-rate China’s technology companies.The Hang Seng AH Premium Index, a widely watched gauge of the valuation gap between dual-listed companies’ A shares trading on mainland exchanges and their H shares in Hong Kong, has remained below 120 in recent sessions, down sharply from a high of 157.89 in February 2024.The shift has been most evident in so-called hard-technology names, where market leaders Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), Montage Technology and GigaDevice Semiconductor have seen their A-H premium turn into an H-A surcharge.EV battery maker CATL’s H-A premium has narrowed sharply in recent sessions, but its H shares stood at a premium of about 43 per cent to its A shares as of Tuesday’s close. For Montage Technology and GigaDevice Semiconductor, the H-A premiums were 14 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.The shift underscored a structural change in how global and domestic investors were pricing Chinese assets, analysts said, rather than a simple short-term arbitrage opportunity.“This is in line with [Beijing’s] A+H policy introduced earlier, which encourages high-quality and promising mainland companies to list in Hong Kong,” said Kenny Tang Sing-hing, chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of Financial Analysts and Professional Commentators.The A+H framework encourages leading mainland companies, particularly in strategic sectors such as technology and advanced manufacturing, to tap offshore capital markets as part of a broader push to improve pricing efficiency and attract global investors.