The active trading performance of Hong Kong’s stock market and the remarkable growth in initial public offering fundraising in the first quarter of this year show that investors are boosting their allocations in the city, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday.

He believes the trend reflects investors’ growing confidence in the special administrative region’s role as a reliable safe haven for capital amid global uncertainties.

Hong Kong ranked third among global financial hubs, according to the latest Global Financial Centres Index published last month.

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Chan attributes the greatest source of confidence in Hong Kong’s status as a world financial center to the sustained development of the Chinese mainland’s economy and the nation’s strong support for the city.

Hong Kong is actively implementing the “Finance+” strategy to support the nation’s development of new quality productive forces, he said.

However, the conflict in the Middle East has dragged down global economic development. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index has declined by roughly two percent year to date.

Nevertheless, the volatile stock market has failed to cool down trading activities. Average daily turnover of Hong Kong stocks exceeded HK$260 billion ($33.33 billion) in the first two months of 2026 -- a year on year surge of 17 percent. Last month, the market became even busier, with average daily turnover topping HK$300 billion, according to Chan.

Moreover, Hong Kong’s IPO market extended last year’s momentum into the first quarter of 2026. As of March 27, proceeds had topped HK$103 billion, ranking first globally.

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There are currently more than 500 applications in the pipeline to list in Hong Kong. The finance chief said more issuers from emerging sectors, such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, robotics, autonomous driving and biotechnology, are flocking to list in the SAR.

He added that as global competition in frontier technologies like AI intensifies, substantial capital is required for core technology breakthroughs, the development of the upstream and downstream industrial chain, and the exploration of broader application scenarios. Therefore, access to stable, sustained and efficient financing has become critically important for these technology enterprises and industries, where Hong Kong’s listing platform is playing a key role.

Besides the financial sector, Chan said merchandise exports had shown a satisfactory performance with a rise of nearly 30 percent year-on-year in the first two months, strengthening Hong Kong’s role as a trading hub.

The retails sector’s recovery has also become clearly evident, he noted.

According to the Census and Statistics Department, the total value of retail sales rose 11.8 percent year-on-year in the first two months of this year, marking the 10th consecutive month of growth and showing a noticeable acceleration compared with the fourth quarter of 2025.

Contact the writer at grace@chinadailyhk.com