This undated photo shows Charles Li, chief executive officer of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) Chief Executive Charles Li Xiaojia said on Tuesday that Hong Kong may become the world's largest biotechnology fund-raising center in the next five to 10 years.

Market capitalization was HK$40.4 trillion (about US$5.21 trillion) at the end of July 2020, up 26 percent from HK$32.1 trillion for the same period last year

Li made the remarks at the HKEX Biotech Summit 2020 held online, noting that Hong Kong is now the world's second-largest biotech fund-raising center.

Laura Cha, chairperson of the HKEX, said at the summit that the HKEX carried out a listing reform in 2018, allowing unprofitable biotech firms to list in Hong Kong, which has become Asia's largest biotech fund-raising center.

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Market capitalization was HK$40.4 trillion (about US$5.21 trillion) at the end of July 2020, up 26 percent from HK$32.1 trillion for the same period last year. The average daily turnover in July 2020 was HK$165.1 billion, up 140 percent from HK$68.7 billion for the same period last year, according to Cha.

Although the COVID-19 epidemic has brought unprecedented challenges to Hong Kong, its capital market has shown strong resilience and vitality, Cha said.

HKEX Head of Listing Bonnie Chan said since the launch of the new listing rules by the HKEX, there have been 20 unprofitable biotech firms listed in Hong Kong, raising HK$48 billion.

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The HKEX will continue to improve the listing rules by working closely with the market and following the market trend, Chan added