Hong Kong Immigration Focus on Hong Kong Economy: Following the sharp global stock market correction in August this year and the significant volatility in the A-share market since mid-June, Hong Kong and Shanghai are expected to maintain their positions as the first and second largest global initial public offering (IPO) markets respectively in terms of funds raised for the first three quarters of 2015. Amidst continued uncertainty regarding the U.S. interest rate hike schedule and a slowdown in China's economic growth, Hong Kong's strong pipeline of companies preparing for listing, the suspension of A-share IPOs since early July, and the slowdown in new listing activities on other major stock exchanges will help Hong Kong remain one of the top three global listing destinations by the end of 2015.
As of September 30, 2015, Hong Kong is expected to record 72 new listings raising HK$156.4 billion. Compared to the 83 new listings raising HK$131.3 billion in the first three quarters of last year, this represents a 13% decrease in the number of new listings and a 19% increase in funds raised. Over the past three quarters, five mega-IPOs accounted for more than two-thirds of the total market fundraising.