(Figure: fund raising amount of new shares listed in Hong Kong in recent years) Hong Kong has always been the first choice for mainland enterprises to go out and foreign enterprises to come in. For many years, Hong Kong ranks among the top three in terms of the amount of new share capital raised in the world. Liangjiaen, general manager of industry advocacy in the Asia Pacific region of CFA Association, said in an exclusive interview with Ta Kung Pao, "Hong Kong's financing market has unique positioning and advantages, such as creative ideas, capital and talents. I believe that the weakness of the new share market this year is only cyclical. Mainland enterprises should be in line with the world, and world investors are also interested in investing in the mainland. Hong Kong will continue to attract different enterprises to list in Hong Kong." "In the past, Hong Kong's GDP grew very fast. Although it experienced the bursting of the asset foam in 1997, Hong Kong's economy quickly returned to rapid development. In particular, the mainland's reform and opening-up, state-owned enterprises began to come to Hong Kong for listing. By 2008 and 2009, private enterprises came to Hong Kong, and the recent Chinese stocks were all turning points in the Hong Kong market." Liangjiaen said. The sharp drop in fund-raising is a cyclical problem However, in the face of the epidemic and the turmoil in the capital market, the Hong Kong new share market is in a cold wind. By the end of May this year, the total amount of funds raised from Hong Kong's initial public offering was only 16.982 billion yuan, down 91% from the same period last year. The market also lowered its forecast for the amount of new share capital raised in Hong Kong from 350billion to 400billion yuan to 180billion to 200billion yuan. With regard to the sharp drop in the amount of new share capital raised in Hong Kong this year, Liang Jiaen pointed out that the world economy has been turbulent in recent years. Since this year, the world has faced the problem of high inflation. The market expects that while the bear market is coming, it also faces many different challenges. It is difficult for Hong Kong to be alone. "Under the market downturn, the company does not want to be listed for financing at this time. Because the valuation is bound to be affected, many companies postpone the listing plan." She believes that the sharp drop in the amount of funds raised in Hong Kong this year is only a cyclical issue. As in 2008 and 2009, Hong Kong should "take a rest". Hong Kong can take advantage of this rest period to consolidate its competitiveness. Liangjiaen said that when a company chooses a listing location, it will have the following considerations: first, it wants to contact those investors; Second, the financing income is used for overseas or domestic; Third, the recognition degree of the industry, because the recognition degree is high, the valuation will also be high; Fourth, the liquidity of the relevant market; 5. Local laws and regulations; Finally, the exchange is how to protect investors. "Hong Kong's financing market has unique positioning and advantages, such as creative ideas, capital and talents. I believe it will continue to attract different enterprises to come to Hong Kong for listing." In fact, after the reunification, with more and more large mainland enterprises coming to Hong Kong for listing, the scale of the Hong Kong stock market has become larger and larger. However, as most large state-owned enterprises and private enterprises have come to Hong Kong for listing, the market is worried about the decline of fund-raising enterprises in Hong Kong in the future. Liangjiaen was not worried about this. He pointed out that different enterprises would come to Hong Kong for listing at different times. For example, there were private enterprises after state-owned enterprises, and new economic stocks and China concept stocks after private enterprises. She pointed out that ESG is the general trend, and renewable energy, environmental protection and clean energy companies may come to Hong Kong for listing in the future. Attracting enterprises to Hong Kong naturally attracts talents As for the recent rise of SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition company), she frankly said that the upsurge has passed. In addition, Hong Kong only allows professional investors to invest, so the transaction is sparse. She added that spac generally takes two to three years to achieve results, so it will take some time to achieve results. However, she believes that Hong Kong needs to introduce spac to give investors different investment platforms. In addition to hardware, talents are also indispensable. With regard to the brain drain in Hong Kong in recent years, Liang Jiaen pointed out that in the medium and long term, he was still optimistic about the talent situation in Hong Kong. She said that the problem in Hong Kong is that the operating costs such as rent are too high. However, she believes that as long as Hong Kong has always been the most popular listing place for enterprises, it will naturally attract talents to Hong Kong. She does not worry about the brain drain. She pointed out that the current development model of Hong Kong is feasible. She also said frankly that trust is very important for a financial center. She hoped that Hong Kong would continue to maintain the trust and confidence of investors in the future. (Xinhua News Agency)