World's no. 1

Hong Kong tops the world in terms of money raised through IPOs in 2009.

As of Dec 7, USD26.81Bn has been raised through initial public offerings via the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This is substantially above the USD17.11 Bn raised through the New York Stock Exchange, the world’s no.2. However, the 2009 year-end figure in Hong Kong is still fall short from the record USD43.9Bn raised in 2006 when it also topped the global list for IPO issuance.

Key success of Hong Kong is its liberal in and out flow of funds, attracting institution & individual investors from both the mainland & overseas. The financial sector and speculators certainly benefit, but whether this success is truly beneficial to the Hong Kong community at large is questionable.

Share price of HKEx is up 90% this year and 150% from its lows in March.