HONG KONG, April 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of 37 companies were listed on Hong Kong market in the first quarter of 2019, raising 2.6 billion U.S. dollars and reinforcing Hong Kong as the premier capital formation center in Asia, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) said.
The Q1 result was due in part to the new Listing Rules implemented in April 2018, which opened the door to new economy and pre-revenue biotech companies for the first time, HKEx said Wednesday while releasing the quarterly report on Hong Kong's initial public offering (IPO) market.
Companies from new and innovative sectors represented 44 percent of the total funds raised in the first quarter in Hong Kong's IPO market.
Among them, six new economy companies raised 645 million U.S. dollars and two biotech companies raised 488 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 25 percent and 19 percent respectively of the total IPO funds raised.
In the first three month of 2019, Hong Kong ranked number one in IPO funds raised in Asia.