Chen Maobo: Hong Kong stock market daily average turnover in March exceeds HK$300 billion, a year-on-year increase of over 8%.

On April 5, the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Paul Chan Mo-po, published a blog post reviewing the first quarter of Hong Kong's economy in 2026. Paul Chan Mo-po stated that the first quarter of 2026 has just passed, and the global situation remains complex and volatile, with the lingering shadow of conflict in the Middle East continuing to impact market sentiment. Due to external factors, the Hong Kong stock market experienced a pullback, with the Hang Seng Index falling by about 2% so far this year. However, trading activity was strong, with the average daily turnover exceeding HK$260 billion in the first two months, an increase of 17% compared to the same period last year. Entering March, market conditions became even more active, with the average daily turnover of Hong Kong stocks surpassing HK$300 billion, an increase of over 8% from the same period last year. This reflects that amidst uncertain circumstances, investors are increasing their asset allocations in Hong Kong, viewing it not only as a reliable haven for funds, but also because of the stable growth of the mainland economy and the large number of quality companies listing in Hong Kong, providing them with numerous investment opportunities. At the same time, global competition in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence has entered a heated stage, necessitating substantial funding support for advancements in core technologies, the development of industry chains, and the exploration of wider applications. It is crucial for related enterprises and industries to obtain smooth, stable, sustainable, and efficient financing. The Hong Kong stock market platform plays a key role in this regard, contributing to the country's technological development and modernization of the industrial system, while attracting global funds towards these future industries. Taking IPOs as an example, Hong Kong's IPO market in the first quarter of this year continued its strong performance from the previous year, with fundraising exceeding HK$103 billion as of March 27, ranking first globally. Together with subsequent financing, the total fundraising scale reached approximately HK$237 billion. More importantly, the companies listing in Hong Kong are increasingly emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, robotics, autonomous driving, and biotechnology. The number of pending applications to list in Hong Kong has already exceeded 500 cases. It can be said that as the external environment becomes more uncertain, more and more companies view Hong Kong as an important window for financing and overseas development. The financial market has performed well, and the overall Hong Kong real economy has also shown improvement in the first quarter, with some sectors achieving significant results. In terms of exports, benefiting from the recovery in global demand for electronic products and the reorganization of regional production supply chains, the value of goods export in the first two months of this year increased by nearly 30% year-on-year, demonstrating an ideal performance. This reflects that although there is uncertainty in the external trade environment, Hong Kong's role as a trade hub remains solid. These days, during the Easter holiday, although many citizens are traveling abroad, the overall trend indicates a clear recovery in the retail market. The total retail sales value in the first two months of this year increased by 11.8% year-on-year, marking the tenth consecutive month of growth, with a significant acceleration compared to the fourth quarter of last year. This is not only due to an increase in high-end consumption, but also a revival in essential categories such as furniture and clothing, showing that local consumer confidence is gradually expanding positively. Online sales are also flourishing, with a sharp increase of 27.5% year-on-year in the first two months. This change in consumer behavior is driving the development of digital support industries such as electronic payments, logistics, and data analysis, injecting new energy into the retail ecosystem. The labor market remains stable, with the unemployment rate slightly decreasing to 3.8%. Employment in the retail and catering industries has improved, overall employment income is continuing to rise, and with improvements in the stock and housing markets, local consumption is being supported.