Having sounded over a thousand times, the gong has not only marked many milestone moments in Hong Kong's capital market journey, but in recent years has also come to symbolize the city's renewed economic vitality amidst its transformation.

　　An increasing number of mainland enterprises were heading to Hong Kong to ring the gong. To date, over 2,600 companies have been listed in Hong Kong, with mainland firms market capitalization accounting for 81 percent of the total. Hong Kong's capital market has become a gateway for mainland companies venturing abroad.

　　New economy companies now ring the gong side by side. Since April 2018, the HKEX began accepting listing applications from companies with weighted voting rights structures and those in emerging sectors such as biotech. The number and fundraising scale of new economy listings in Hong Kong have since seen a significant rise.

　　In the first half of this year, Hong Kong completed 42 IPOs, raising over 107 billion HK dollars, an increase of approximately 22 percent compared to the whole of last year, placing the city at the top of global rankings.

　　Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said that IPO applications in Hong Kong are rapidly increasing. So far, around 200 applications have been received, doubling the number at the beginning of this year.

　　The market remains optimistic about the performance of both Hong Kong equities and the IPO market for the second half of the year, he added.

　　The IPO boom is breathing new life into Hong Kong's capital market, not only helping companies tap international opportunities, but also accelerating the city's economic evolution.