Annual gains of up to ninefold! Which companies in the Hong Kong stock market are leading the charge, and in which sectors are emerging contenders frequently arising?

After hitting a bottom and rebounding in 2024, the Hong Kong stock market has made significant progress since 2025, showing strong overall growth and leading the major global stock markets.

Since 2025, the Hong Kong stock market $Hang Seng Index(800000.HK)$ has cumulatively increased by over 26% in the year, significantly outpacing the performance of major markets such as those in the United States, Japan, and Europe during the same period.

Analysts believe that this rally of the Hong Kong stock market has not only reversed the long-standing valuation discount dilemma but has also led to a reassessment of the value of Chinese assets within the global asset allocation system.

Looking back over the past year in the Hong Kong stock market, several sectors have witnessed numerous high-performing stocks, particularly in the three major fields of AI, consumer goods, and innovative pharmaceuticals. Specifically, in the AI sector, $MOBVISTA(01860.HK)$ 、 $KINGSOFT CLOUD(03896.HK)$ 、 $YOFC(06869.HK)$ And $MEITU(01357.HK)$ the stock price increases ranged between 370% and 805%; the new consumer sector. $LAOPU GOLD(06181.HK)$ and $POP MART(09992.HK)$ The performance is particularly outstanding, soaring by over 740% and 620%; innovative drug companies $REMEGEN(09995.HK)$ and $3SBIO(01530.HK)$ also exhibited strong performance, with increases of 460% and 380%, respectively.

Moreover, other sectors also saw remarkable individual stock performances, such as $JF SMARTINVEST(09636.HK)$ a surge of approximately 940%, $GUOTAI JUNAN I(01788.HK)$ and a significant rise of 740%, indicating a diversified market trend.

Why have the stock prices of these companies surged dramatically in just one year? Let's take a look at the underlying reasons.

1. Jiu Fang Zhi Tou Holdings

$JF SMARTINVEST(09636.HK)$ Since September 24th of last year, the stock price has skyrocketed as if on a rocket. This remarkable rise in the company's stock price is closely related to the overall recovery of the Chinese market.

Notably, Jiu Fang Zhi Tou Holdings previously announced plans to acquire all shares of Yintech Financial for HKD 0.10881 billion and to acquire its core information system for HKD 18.16 million. Through its subsidiaries, Fang De Securities and Fang De Capital, Yintech Financial provides a comprehensive range of financial services including securities, futures, and asset management for both individual and institutional clients, covering Hong Kong and overseas financial markets.

Dongwu Securities stated that this acquisition will be the first step for Jiufang Zhituo's "overseas expansion," covering core markets such as Hong Kong and the United States through the target company, thereby enhancing industry competitiveness. Furthermore, by integrating the licensed business of Fangde Securities, Jiufang Zhituo Holdings may strengthen its coverage capabilities in core markets such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the U.S. Securities Exchange, as well as the northbound trading through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, further expanding cross-border financial services.

Dongwu Securities pointed out that by deepening its smart investment advisory product matrix, expanding the comprehensive traffic ecosystem, and continuously increasing R&D investment, the company is expected to consolidate its leading position in the rapidly expanding online investment education market; moreover, all of the company's business segments are still in a phase of rapid growth, with the number of paying customers expected to continue to rise steadily. Catalysts for stock price performance include market activity (A-share trading volume) and anticipated growth curves for new business with Hong Kong securities licenses.

However, it is essential to note that Jiufang Zhituo Holdings has faced numerous service controversies recently, and investors should be mindful of the associated risks.

2. Huillong Technology

AI + Advertising $MOBVISTA(01860.HK)$ Once viewed by the market as China's version of AppLovin, this company has seen a strong increase in its stock price over the past year, leading the APP sector.

Since its establishment in 2013, Huillong Technology has been committed to providing global clients with the advertising technology services and marketing technology services necessary for developing the mobile internet ecosystem. The company's advertising platform and SaaS products offer clients a comprehensive solution throughout the entire life cycle, covering data analysis, user growth, statistical attribution, traffic monetization, and cost optimization.

As the core advertising platform under Huillong Technology, Mintegral stands out due to its significant advantages. It is an AI-driven programmatic interactive mobile advertising platform that utilizes advanced artificial intelligence technology and algorithms to provide advertisers and mobile developers with precise user acquisition and efficient traffic monetization solutions. Mintegral has now become one of the world's leading third-party programmatic advertising trading platforms.

Huillong Technology's latest profit warning announcement indicates that for the six months ending June 30, 2025, the group expects to record a net profit ranging from $30 million to $38 million, compared to approximately $7.34 million net profit for the six months ending June 30, 2024.

The company stated that the increase in net profit for this period is primarily due to: 1. The rapid development of the core business in programmatic advertising: the Mintegral platform operates in a rapidly growing industry, and the company leads in technological advancements, driving continuous revenue growth; 2. The operational leverage highlighted by economies of scale, promoting an increase in net profit margins.

3. Guotai Junan International

$GUOTAI JUNAN I(01788.HK)$ Benefiting from this year's stablecoin policy, the stock price soared nearly twofold in June.

Previously, Guotai Junan International upgraded its Hong Kong Type 1 license to provide virtual asset trading services for clients. Following the license upgrade, customers will be able to trade cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.), stablecoins (such as Tether, etc.), and other virtual assets directly on the Guotai Junan International platform. Shenwan Hongyuan noted that in addition to the Type 1 license, the Type 9 license can also be upgraded to include virtual assets in its investment scope, thus looking forward to subsequent mainland brokers extending their virtual asset business in Hong Kong from client trading to asset management.

In addition, Guotai Junan International announced a performance forecast last month, expecting to record a net profit of HKD 0.515 billion to HKD 0.595 billion in the first half of 2025, soaring 161% to 202% compared to the net profit of approximately HKD 0.197 billion in the same period of 2024. This anticipated growth is primarily driven by significant increases in revenue from the group's core businesses, including wealth management, corporate financing, asset management, and trading and investment.

4. Laopu Gold

$LAOPU GOLD(06181.HK)$ is a standout in the current new consumption trend, with stock prices temporarily exceeding 1,000 HKD.

In the first half of 2025, the company achieved revenue of 12.354 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 251%; gross profit of 4.705 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 223%; profit during the period amounted to 2.268 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 286%; adjusted net profit was 2.351 billion yuan (net profit margin of 19.0%, a year-on-year increase). The sales performance, including tax, reached 14.184 billion yuan, with basic earnings per share of 13.38 yuan. The growth was driven by a threefold force of "volume, price + organization," exhibiting both certainty and continuity.

Growth drivers: 1) Brand momentum: Attained industry certification, with a high average contribution from single stores, Tmall '618' sales exceeding 1 billion yuan, and online half-year revenue of 1.618 billion yuan, making up 13.1% of total revenue, bringing in new customer groups and higher conversion rates; the number of members increased to approximately 0.48 million, with a net increase of 0.13 million over half a year.

2) Product strength: Cumulatively over 2,100 original designs, with 273 domestic patents, 246 foreign patents, and 1,505 copyrights. Continuously launching unique series such as “pure gold inlay”, driving unit price and repurchase through supply-side innovation.

Overall, attention in the second half of the year will focus on three main lines:

1) Performance of individual stores versus same-store sales: Focus on the output levels of individual stores in core commercial districts and the sustainability of same-store growth;

2) Gross margin recovery: Against the backdrop of gradually stabilizing gold prices and the implementation of product pricing policies, gross margins are expected to see a phased recovery;

3) Progress in channel internationalization: This includes the performance growth of the Marina Bay Sands store in Singapore and the new store at Hang Lung in Shanghai, as well as the synergistic effects between online sales ratios and customer acquisition costs.

Overall, Laopu Gold has achieved a high-quality closed loop of "brand-product-channel," creating a positive cycle between scale expansion and profitability. If the operational efficiency of individual stores and gross margins improve in the second half of the year, the company's performance resilience and cash return capabilities are expected to further enhance.

5. Pop Mart

In the second quarter, $POP MART(09992.HK)$ the company achieved its best-ever performance. Following this, the company's market value officially surpassed 400 billion US dollars.

In the first half of the year, the revenue reached 13.88 billion yuan, more than doubling year-on-year; the adjusted net profit was 4.71 billion yuan, up 362.8% year-on-year, both exceeding the total for the entire year of 2024. In the first half of the year, Pop Mart had 13 intellectual properties (IPs) with revenues exceeding 100 million yuan, of which 5 IPs had revenues surpassing 1 billion yuan.

The expansion into overseas markets and the strong performance of super IP Labubu, along with the new IP "Twinkle Twinkle" (Star People), have become dual driving forces for revenue growth. The newly launched "Twinkle Twinkle," which debuted just six months ago, achieved sales of 0.389 billion yuan.

In response to questions regarding earnings guidance, Wang Ning expressed confidence at the beginning of this year of achieving a 50% overall growth rate. Last year's revenue was 10 billion, and this year he hopes to reach 20 billion, but now it seems that achieving 30 billion should be quite manageable, while also emphasizing the importance of monitoring health metrics. The management team also projects that the company's net profit margin will continue to improve in the second half of the year, predicting that the net profit margin for the year will be around 35%.

He also "spoiled" that a mini version of Labubu will be released this week, which can be "hung on mobile phones," and is expected to become the next super hit.

Looking forward to the second half of the year, JPMorgan has outlined seven consecutive catalysts for Pop Mart, including: the Labubu and Uniqlo collaborative T-shirts set to launch on August 22; the possibility of being included in the Hang Seng Index; the premiere of the first season of "Labubu & Friends" animation in August/September; and the release of the Labubu 4.0 trailer before Christmas and the Spring Festival holiday.

6. Kingsoft Cloud

$KINGSOFT CLOUD(03896.HK)$ is one of the major winners in the current wave of AI, with a cumulative increase of over four times in the past year.

In the second quarter of 2025, Kingsoft Cloud reported revenue of 2.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.2% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 19.3%, with growth rates exceeding market expectations, demonstrating strong business growth momentum. Among them, public cloud business revenue reached 1.63 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.7%; industry cloud revenue was 0.72 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.1%.

This financial report not only reflects the company's robust performance on a financial level but also indicates strengthened strategic advancement and market competitiveness. In this quarter, AI made a significant contribution to the main cloud business, driving strong overall growth.

Furthermore, as the sole strategic cloud service provider in the Xiaomi Kingsoft ecosystem, Kingsoft Cloud continues to deepen its understanding of customer needs within the ecosystem, achieving collaborative development. Revenue from Xiaomi and Kingsoft ecosystem in this quarter reached 0.63 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 69.5%, further rising to account for 26.8% of total revenue. The total income related to the ecosystem in the first half of the year reached 1.13 billion yuan, already completing 40% of the related transaction quota for 2025.

Overall, driven by the AI strategy, Kingsoft Cloud's business growth was steady in this quarter, with continuous enhancement of product competitiveness, and positive progress in ecological cooperation and government-private enterprise expansion. In the future, as AI applications accelerate their implementation across various industries, the company is expected to continue benefiting from industry trends and further expand its market share.

7. Rongchang Biotech

Since 2025, the innovative drug sector has experienced explosive growth. Among them, $REMEGEN(09995.HK)$ In the past year, it has increased nearly fivefold.

On August 18, 2025, a notice from Rongchang Bio sparked industry attention: its self-developed VEGF/FGF dual-target fusion protein drug RC28 has licensed its overseas rights to the global ophthalmology giant Santen Pharmaceutical, with a total agreement amount of 1.395 billion yuan. This not only marks another milestone in the internationalization of China's innovative drugs but also serves as strong evidence of domestic pharmaceutical companies gaining recognition from global industry leaders for their R&D capabilities.

8. Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Company Limited

$YOFC(06869.HK)$ This year, its stock price has been on the rise, accumulating an increase of over twofold, with an astonishing increase of up to fourfold in the past year.

Zhongtai Securities noted that hollow-core optical fibers, which use air as the transmission medium, possess two main characteristics: lower latency and lower loss, making them the primary type for future AI data center interconnectivity. In July 2025, the first commercial deployment of hollow-core optical fibers by China Mobile may signify an acceleration of the commercialization process, with Yangtze Optical Fibre being the sole winner of the bid, at an actual winning price of approximately 0.036 million yuan per core kilometer. The firm stated it will closely watch Yangtze Optical Fibre (which has leading production capacity in hollow-core technology and has already won bids for related projects).

CITIC Securities also indicated that with the increasing demand for data center interconnectivity driven by AI, the optical fiber industry is rapidly evolving, and overseas manufacturers are accelerating their deployment of hollow-core optical fibers, optimistic that the standardization of technology will promote scalable applications being continually realized.

9.三生制藥

This year, it ranks among the top innovative drug stocks. $3SBIO(01530.HK)$ It certainly holds a significant position, with an increase of over fourfold within the year. On May 20, the Hong Kong-listed innovative drug enterprise Sanofi Biotech reached a collaboration with Pfizer, setting a new record for the highest initial payment for a domestic innovative drug going abroad, greatly enhancing market confidence in the innovative drug sector.

JPMorgan stated that overseas companies are attracted by three core advantages of Chinese assets—solid R&D capabilities for discovering and developing innovative drugs, faster drug development speeds, and improved intellectual property protection, alongside greater recognition from overseas regulatory bodies such as the FDA and EMA. Quality-driven competition rather than price competition is driving a valuation reassessment across the entire industry.

10, Meitu

This year, in the Hong Kong stock market, many AI concept stocks have quietly soared, among which the most typical is $MEITU(01357.HK)$ , with a cumulative rise of over 370% in the past year.

Behind the soaring stock price of Meitu is significant growth in finance, user base, and overseas expansion, driven by AI.

Meitu's revenue in the first half of this year increased by 12.3% year-on-year to 1.8 billion yuan, with the highest proportion coming from imaging and design products, reaching 1.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 45.2%; advertising business revenue was 0.43 billion yuan, an increase of 5% year-on-year; revenue from the beauty solutions business was 30.1 million yuan, a significant decrease of 88.9%; and other business revenue was 6.2 million yuan.

In addition, Meitu officially launched the AI design agent RoboNeo, positioned as a "one-stop imaging design agent." RoboNeo allows users to meet complex imaging needs through a "one-sentence command" and integrates multiple functions such as image retouching, brand design, and webpage production, closely resembling Meitu’s "family bucket" concept, providing users with a one-stop image processing experience.

A research report by Morgan Stanley states that Meitu's RoboNeo can assist the e-commerce industry in quickly generating product images, posters, trademarks, and other comprehensive design solutions, significantly reducing labor and design costs. It is expected to enhance the average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) from Meitu's productivity applications, with projections indicating that the penetration rate of paying users for Meitu will reach 6.4%, 7.9%, and 9.4% in 2025, 2026, and 2027 respectively, with the target price raised to 14.4 Hong Kong dollars, reiterating the "overweight" rating.

Overall, in the global capital allocation, the Hong Kong stock market is becoming a key focus for funds. Since the beginning of this year, with improvements in market liquidity, enhanced valuation attractiveness, and continuous support from favorable policies, the activity level of the Hong Kong stock market has significantly increased, demonstrating strong capital absorption capacity and growth potential.