Hong Kong’s primary-listing market is going through a dry patch in what is normally the busiest time of the year.
 
Several potential billion-dollar initial public offerings ranging from supermarket owner WM Tech Corp. to health-care startup We Doctor Holdings Ltd. have let their applications lapse in recent weeks as regulatory scrutiny and stock market weakness crimps listings.
 
Large IPOs falling by the wayside are a further sign of how China’s regulatory onslaught is causing a downturn in the financial hub’s market for first-time share sales. President Xi Jinping’s push to align companies with his vision of “common prosperity” has caused a roadblock. After a stellar first half, the value of IPOs dipped to just $6.2 billion in the third quarter — the lowest since the start of the pandemic and behind South Korea for the first time in four years.
 
We Doctor’s planned float —