Net purchases by southbound funds via China's Stock Connect program on Monday stood at HK$6.654 billion ($855.97 million), bringing the year-to-date net inflow to more than HK$1.3 trillion. Since the launch of Stock Connect in 2014, cumulative net inflows have surpassed HK$5 trillion, setting a new record for the interconnection mechanism, the Securities Times reported on Monday.

All three major stock indices in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) strengthened on Monday. The Hang Seng Index rose 1.55 percent to 26,649.06 points, the Hang Seng TECH Index gained 1.34 percent to 5,915.56 points, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbed 1.90 percent to 9,443.24 points. Gold, vehicle, pharmaceutical, and some new consumer concept stocks led the gains.

The Hong Kong IPO market has been robust since the beginning of 2025. Total IPO proceeds have reached HK$216.474 billion, marking the first time since the 2021 peak that Hong Kong IPOs have exceeded HK$200 billion, according to another report by the Securities Times on November 6.

This year's IPOs include major firms such as CATL and Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co, as well as smaller new consumer companies like Mixue Group and Auntea Jenny, which have gone public in batches.

Paul Chan Mo-po, financial secretary of the HKSAR, said in a blog post on Sunday that over the past five years, the city's number of start-ups has grown by 40 percent to approximately 4,700 companies, and the HKSAR provides these start-ups with a full-spectrum financing environment—from angel rounds to multiple follow-on funding rounds and eventually IPOs—offering robust financial support at every stage of development.

Over the past year, start-ups under the HKSAR's two flagship innovation hubs - the Hong Kong Science &Technology Park and Cyberport -- have collectively raised about HK$6 billion. Several companies based in these hubs have also successfully gone public during the same period, raising a total of HK$5.2 billion through IPOs, the financial secretary wrote.

From a macro perspective, the ongoing 15th National Games across South China's Guangdong Province, the HKSAR and the Macao Special Administrative Region highlight the potential of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in industry and technological innovation, Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Monday, noting that capital markets are responding positively to the anticipated growth, helping drive the recent surge in market activity.

"More importantly, Hong Kong's role as a super-connector between the Chinese mainland and the global market allows international capital to link with steadily growing mainland enterprises through investments in Hong Kong stocks, a trend that has increasingly shaped investor behavior," Dong noted.

(Source: Global Times)