ENG-2010 — Page 114

72 | Financial and Monetary Affairs

educated workforce and ease of entry for professionals from outside Hong Kong also contribute to the development of its financial markets.

International financial institutions maintain a strong presence in the city. Of the world's top 100 banks, 70 have operations in Hong Kong. At the end of the year, 136 of the 146 licensed banks in Hong Kong were foreign-owned.

The interbank money market is well established. Hong Kong-dollar wholesale deposits are traded actively among local Als, and between local and overseas Als, with an average daily turnover of $210.3 billion in 2010.

A triennial survey co-ordinated by the Bank for International Settlements in 2010 shows the daily average foreign exchange turnover in Hong Kong at US$237.6 billion, making Hong Kong the world's sixth largest foreign exchange market.

With a total market capitalisation of about $21,077 billion at year's end, the Hong Kong stock market ranked seventh in the world and third in Asia. The daily turnover averaged $69.1 billion in 2010. At year's end, 1 413 public companies were listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK). The 101 newly listed companies raised $449 billion from IPOs.

In 2010, Hong Kong ranked first worldwide in terms of IPO funds raised. Besides new share issues, $409 billion was raised on the secondary market.

The Hong Kong stock market is an important fund-raising platform for Mainland enterprises. At year's end, 592 Mainland enterprises were listed on the SEHK. In 2010, equity funds raised by Mainland enterprises2 amounted to $473.6 billion, which was 55 per cent of the total equity funds raised through the SEHK during the year. About $224.4 billion was raised in new listings of Mainland enterprises in Hong Kong, accounting for 50 per cent of the total equity funds raised in IPOs on the SEHK.

Overseas intermediaries were increasingly interested in setting up business operations in Hong Kong. The number of Exchange Participants3 trading on the SEHK increased from 463 at the end of 2009 to 485 at the end of 2010. The number of Exchange Participants trading on the futures market increased from 167 at the end of 2009 to 179 at the end of 2010.

The asset management industry is characterised by its strong international flavour, in terms of the presence of both global fund managers and the different domiciles of authorised funds. At year's end, 836 companies were licensed or registered to carry out asset management business, representing an increase of 9 per cent from a year earlier. In addition to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)

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Mainland enterprises include H share companies, red-chip companies and non-H share Mainland private enterprises.

An Exchange Participant is a corporation that may trade on or through the SEHK or the Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited and is licensed under the Securities and Futures Ordinance to carry on securities/futures/options dealing activity.