Hong Kong's first-ever initial public offering (IPO) by a pawn shop has caught the imagination of retail investors, sending shares of the new entrant Oi Wah Pawnshop Credit Holdings surging over 30 percent on its debut on Tuesday.
Could this small, $12.9 million listing - which was more than a thousand times oversubscribed – be the catalyst that injects life back into Hong Kong's lackluster IPO market?
Not likely, says Jackson Wong, vice president at Tanrich Securities, given that risk appetite remains muted and investors have become more discerning.
"I think the water is warmer right now, however, we aren't ready for bigger IPOs (in Hong Kong)," he told CNBC on Tuesday.
Hong Kong's once red-hot IPO market witnessed a 65 percent decline in total funds raised in 2012, compared to the previous year, knocking the city off its top spot as a destination for fund raising. The city fell to fourth place in the global rankings for IPOs in 2012, after coming in first place for three years from 2009-2011.
(Read More: Is 2012 as Bad as It Gets for Hong Kong's IPOs? )