Hong Kong replaced New York this year as the world's biggest IPO market by the amount of funds raised, buoyed by Chinese banks and other financial firms, with the deal pipeline pointing to a stronger year ahead.
Companies raised $25 billion via initial public offerings (IPOs) in Hong Kong so far this year.
This was higher than the $19.4 billion raised in New York, preliminary data from Thomson Reuters data shows.
Many Chinese brokers and banks had rushed to raise funds to finance their margin loan business and boost core capital amid a stock market rally earlier this year.
Big Hong Kong IPOs in 2015 included the $4.8 billion deal by Guotai Junan Securities and a $2.5 billion capital raising by China Huarong Asset Management.
New York had been the world's biggest IPO market for the past three years.
But US IPO proceeds slumped 73% this year after surging to $71.7 billion in 2014, helped in part by Alibaba's record $25 billion deal.
The funds raised in Hong Kong accounted for more than a third of the total amount for the entire Asia Pacific region, but were 13% lower than a year ago, according to the data.
Next year, more Chinese companies are set to raise funds through IPOs, the financial sector leading the pack, bankers said.
Companies expected to issue IPOs next year include state-backed Postal Savings Bank of China, which recently completed a $7 billion pre-IPO financing round, Chinese online lending platform Lufax, backed by China's second largest insurer Ping An Insurance Group and Sinopec Sales, the marketing arm of China Petroleum and Chemicals Corp (Sinopec).
