HONG KONG, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's IPO market has a strong pipeline, with 488 companies awaiting approval, said Carlson Tong, chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) on Friday.

Since the start of 2026, Hong Kong's stock market has seen 24 new listings, raising over 87 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 11.1 billion U.S. dollars), Tong said while attending a ceremony marking the first trading day of the Year of the Horse.

Despite the surge in IPO applications, Tang reaffirmed that the HKEX will not slacken in the listing review process, pledging to step up efforts to ensure Hong Kong's status as a recognized high-quality market.

Hong Kong's capital markets saw exceptional levels of activity last year.

HKEX data showed that the financial hub finished 2025 as the world's top IPO fundraising venue, raising 37.4 billion U.S. dollars across 119 listings, including two of the five largest IPOs globally. In terms of industry, it was among the top hubs globally for issuance in the healthcare and biotech, technology, media and telecommunications, as well as industrials and new energy sectors.

Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, highlighted that Hong Kong had a successful Year of the Snake, with marked improvements in market liquidity and highly diversified sources of capital.

He noted that the Hang Seng Index rose nearly 6,500 points during the Year of the Snake, surging 32 percent from a year ago, adding that he remains cautiously optimistic for the year ahead.

The HKSAR government will continue to accelerate reforms to support innovative and high-growth companies as well as overseas companies to list in Hong Kong, while also fully leveraging Hong Kong's unique role as a two-way platform under the "one country, two systems" framework, Chan said.