Chan Mo-po: Hong Kong's new stock fundraising amount has exceeded HKD 60 billion this year, ranking first in the world

According to Zhitong Finance APP, on May 18, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan mentioned in a blog that the Hong Kong stock market has been improving repeatedly this year. The Hang Seng Index closed at 23,345 points last Friday, with a cumulative increase of about 16%, outperforming other major markets. Market trading has also increased, with an average daily turnover exceeding HKD 270 billion in April, a 1.4 times increase compared to the same period last year. The new stock market is also very prosperous. On May 13, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will welcome the listing of a highly anticipated mainland new energy leading enterprise, marking the largest IPO fundraising activity globally this year, which has brought Hong Kong's total IPO fundraising amount to over HKD 60 billion, more than six times that of the same period last year, making it the largest in the world. Regarding the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate, at the beginning of this month, the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate remained strong, close to 7.75 to one US dollar, triggering the "strong-side convertibility guarantee" four times. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has repeatedly absorbed the market's US dollar sell orders, injecting a total of about HKD 129 billion into the market. The influx of funds has led to ample liquidity, causing the Hong Kong interbank offered rate to decline. The one-month HIBOR, closely related to mortgage rates, has recently dropped from 4% to about 1.3%. However, the flow of funds and interest rate trends are subject to various internal and external factors, and the Hong Kong SAR government and regulatory authorities will continue to closely monitor market changes to maintain financial stability. As of March this year, the total bank deposits in Hong Kong approached HKD 18 trillion. Following a rise of about 7% last year, there has been a cumulative increase of 3.5% this year. Looking at major global markets, Paul Chan stated that funds are gradually gathering towards leading innovative enterprises and strategically valuable future industries. Hong Kong is continuously strengthening the dual-engine development of "finance + innovation and technology," vigorously cultivating potential innovative enterprises, and promoting a more comprehensive development of the financial market, allowing both to complement and promote each other, taking the development of Hong Kong as an international financial center and an international innovation and technology center to a new level. Hong Kong's efforts in promoting research and development and the transformation of results, supporting the growth of technology enterprises, and attracting key enterprises to settle here are becoming increasingly evident. Hong Kong's vision is to gather global research elites, leading innovative enterprises, and outstanding startups and entrepreneurs. At the same time, Hong Kong is continuously creating smoother and more comprehensive financing channels, allowing capital elements to better support technological innovation, adding new momentum to the economy, and creating more diverse and high-quality employment for citizens. This financing chain can be divided into different stages: the early stage requires the support of "patient capital" from venture capital funds, sovereign funds, etc., while the mid-to-late stage mainly relies on private equity funds, mergers and acquisitions, IPO fundraising, and refinancing through various channels. In addition to policy guidance, the Hong Kong SAR government is leveraging the power of "patient capital" through the Hong Kong Investment Management Company (HKIMC), including strategies such as "invest early, invest small, invest in hard technology," to support the construction of Hong Kong's innovation and technology ecosystem and actively contribute to accelerating the cultivation of new productive forces and high-quality development. The HKIMC has currently invested in over 100 projects and successfully attracted HKD 4 of long-term market capital for every HKD 1 invested, gathering more international patient capital to continuously empower technological innovation and contribute to Hong Kong's economic development and competitiveness enhancement The Hong Kong Investment Company will hold the first "International Patient Capital Forum" this Thursday, themed "Gathering Capital Strength, Building a Prosperous Future Together." The forum will bring together hundreds of representatives from patient capital, including sovereign funds, pension funds, university endowments, family offices, corporate venture capital from the Global South and various regions, as well as startups and investment institutions. It will focus on discussing the establishment of collaborative platforms, exploring cooperation opportunities, leveraging the power of investment to drive better regional development