(Yicai) Oct. 24 -- The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is reviewing around 300 initial public offering applications, about half of which are from cutting-edge new economy sectors such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, new materials and biotechnology, the chief executive officer of the bourse’s operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing said yesterday.

A wave of exciting new tech companies has been drawing strong attention from global investors, Bonnie Chan said during a roundtable discussion at the 2025 Bund Summit. Many of these investors buy mainland Chinese stocks through the Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong stock connect programs, helping boost activity in the onshore market. At the same time, more mainland investors are participating in the stock connect schemes, and this connectivity has brought prosperity to both markets.

More than 60 companies went public in Hong Kong in the first nine months, raising CNY182.9 billion (USD2.5 million) and making the special administrative region the biggest IPO market in the world for the period, Chan said. Since the beginning of the year, the average daily trading volume of Hong Kong stocks has topped HKD250 billion (USD32.1 billion).

The recent rally in Hong Kong stocks has been supported by a series of economic stimulus measures rolled out by the Chinese government last year, which have made the market more attractive to global investors, as well as the catalytic effect of AI startup DeepSeek's high-profile debut earlier this year, she added.

However, the biggest challenge facing the Hong Kong bourse is how to build a more diversified, multi-asset ecosystem, particularly in the fixed-income space, Chan said. Global investors are seeking a new balance, and the Hong Kong stock exchange needs to offer more than just IPOs and equities and include a broader range of fixed income, commodities and other asset classes.

Editor: Kim Taylor