Benson Yeung at Hong Kong Today

According to the World Federation of Exchanges, Hong Kong has topped the world’s stock exchanges in the lucrative trade of IPO (Initial Public Offerings) in the first ten months of 2009. The total of funds raised reached US$13.82 billion, out-running Shanghai Exchange’s US$12.37 billion with a comfortable margin of 10%. Brazilian and New York Stock Exchanges are the 2nd and third runner-ups with funds raised between 12 and 13 billion US dollars. This year so far, 47 corporates have been successfully listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the numbers appear to be rising in the coming year as companies try to get in before the central banks change their lax monetary policy as the world’s economies slowly recover. Mark To of Hong Kong’s Prudential Brokerage commented that nearly 99 percent of the listing candidates in the coming year would generate income from the mainland (China). One notable exception would be US Rusal, the world’s biggest aluminium procducer. The Russian firm posts to become the first Russian company to be listed in Hong Kong before the end of 2009.

Image Credit: it.com.cn