Goldman Sachs Group Inc claimed top ranking in Hong Kong equity sales for the first time since 2013, riding a wave of billion-dollar deals in the city after three years of lackluster activity.

So far this year, Goldman is given credit for $5.6 billion in initial and secondary offerings, beating runner-up UBS Group AG by $2 billion, helped by four mega deals, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

Back in 2022, the Wall Street giant ranked as low as 13th in the closely watched league tables.

A surge in big China deals has allowed global banks, also including Morgan Stanley, to push down local rivals in Hong Kong’s initial public offering rankings. Chinese companies have flocked to the special administrative region, seeking international capital to expand and avoiding New York as geopolitical and trade tensions simmer. The turmoil has added to the confusion over where US economic policy is headed, nudging investors away from the US dollar and markets.

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“Capital needs to be rebalanced and there’s strong inflow into this region,” James Wang, head of equity capital markets for Asia ex-Japan at Goldman, said in an interview. “People are waking up to this and realizing there will be lots of opportunities in offshore China.”

Hong Kong stock offerings hit $33 billion in the first half of the year, surpassing the total annual volume in each of the previous three years. That’s still far below the record $113 billion raised in 2021. With a plethora of big deals in 2020 and 2021, Goldman ranked second behind Morgan Stanley, and last topped the ranking in 2013.

Record-low deal volumes in 2022 to 2024 triggered job cuts across global banks, but Goldman took a bigger hit because of its focus on large, marquee deals.

So far this year, Goldman has played a key part in large deals by Xiaomi Corp, BYD Co and Foshan Haitian Flavouring & Food Co. The firm missed out on the sponsor role – the top billing for a deal — in Contemporary Amperex Technology Co’s $5.2 billion offering, the biggest so far this year. Even so, as a joint global coordinator, Goldman placed $1.15 billion of CATL’s $2.6 billion cornerstone tranche to investors including Kuwait Investment Authority and Sinopec (Hong Kong) Ltd.

That almost matched the combined total placed by the deal’s four lead underwriters including JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp, according to the prospectus. JPMorgan and Bank of America each placed at least $380 million while China International Capital Corp sold $420 million, according to the document.

Still, cornerstone placement may not necessarily translate into strong fees, as some strategic clients often negotiate directly with the issuer and may be unwilling to pay the full fee.

CICC and China Securities International were also lead sponsors of CATL.

JPMorgan and Bank of America declined to comment, while CICC wasn’t immediately available to comment.

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Goldman was the first global player to call for a rebound in China’s market in December and had months earlier begun an internal push to bring Chinese listing candidates to Hong Kong, reassuring clients that investor demand for new stock issues would return, according to Wang.

“We know where to find investors, and that’s what allows us to get deals done,” Wang said.

Just looking at IPOs, Chinese rivals have slid down the rankings after claiming the top four spots a year ago. While CICC is still No. 1, it is followed by Morgan Stanley, UBS and Goldman. Huatai Securities rounds out the top five.

In the first half of 2024, when IPO activity amounted to just $1.7 billion, China Construction Bank Corp ranked first and China Merchants Bank second. They have now fallen to 17th and 15th place this year, respectively, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Chinese IPO candidates are turning to international underwriters with deeper networks and access to stable, high-quality investors, an edge that’s crucial amid current market volatility and geopolitical tension.

Hong Kong is prepared for much more business this year, and is forecast to become the world’s top spot for IPOs.

An estimated 90 to 100 companies are forecast to raise between HK$200 billion ($25.5 billion) to HK$220 billion, according to PwC.

READ MORE: Hong Kong to reclaim top spot in global IPOs, PwC says

“The second half of the year is traditionally the peak period for Hong Kong IPOs,” said Eddie Wong, PwC Hong Kong capital markets leader. “With more than 200 listing applications already submitted, we expect strong momentum to continue, supported by several mega deals.”