Morgan Stanley tracking indicates that Pop Mart led Southbound trading inflows among Hong Kong-listed consumer companies during the first quarter, posting an 8.7 percentage point increase in Southbound holdings as a percentage of free float. The figure was the largest gain across 74 major Hong Kong-listed consumer stocks that are eligible for trading through the Shanghai/Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect mechanism.
Following Pop Mart, IFBH registered the second-largest uptake with a 7.3 percentage point rise, while China Modern Dairy, Vitasoy and UPC saw increases of 6.3, 5.8 and 5.2 percentage points, respectively. In total, 27 of the tracked stocks recorded inflows over the quarter, while 47 experienced outflows.
Despite these movements at the individual-stock level, the average of Southbound holdings as a percentage of free float across the group remained largely flat compared with the end of the fourth quarter of 2025.
On the outflow side, Chervon experienced the largest reduction in Southbound holdings, falling 7.0 percentage points. CTGDF declined by 6.0 percentage points, China Foods by 5.5 percentage points, H&H by 4.0 percentage points and Cheerwin Group by 3.9 percentage points.
Sector-level patterns were uneven. The report identified outflows in several categories, including Alcoholic Beverages, Catering, OEM, Apparel & Sportswear, Agriculture, IMF, Home Appliances, Education and Duty Free. Other categories within the consumer cohort showed average inflows over the quarter.
March activity followed a similar mixed pattern. Within that single month, 27 stocks posted inflows, 44 recorded outflows and three registered zero net flows. Average Southbound holdings as a percentage of free float remained flat relative to the end of February.
Pop Mart again led March inflows with a 4.2 percentage point gain. UPC was next with a 3.6 percentage point increase, followed by Xtep at 3.0 percentage points, COFCO Joycome at 2.2 percentage points and China Foods at 1.9 percentage points.
The tracking data underline a market in which a subset of consumer names attracted meaningful Southbound buying while a larger number of stocks saw capital leaving via the Connect channel. The aggregate stability in average Southbound holdings indicates that the concentrated increases at the leaders were counterbalanced by declines across many other constituents in the eligible universe.