TOKYO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Hong Kong has seen an increase in listings of growth companies — those yet to achieve sustained profitability but with strong growth potential — due to improved market infrastructure, the CEO of its Securities and Futures Commission said on Monday.
Among firms listed on Hong Kong's bourse, the portion of growth companies in sectors like biotechnology and AI has risen to 30% from 10% in 2023, Julia Leung said during a seminar in Tokyo hosted by Japan's Financial Services Agency.
"Our stock exchange has actually done proactive reform and put in regimes to attract growth companies," she said at the seminar on global capital markets.
That has balanced the need to offer sufficient investor protection, while allowing the entry of firms that have not fully commercialised their products yet, she added.
Most growth companies were three to five years old, with some developing AI models.
The Hong Kong stock exchange has also improved market infrastructure for clearing and settlement of deals, Leung said.
Hong Kong benefits immensely from being on the doorstep of China, which is a big producer of the entire AI chain, she said, adding that startups were hungry for capital and looking for international expansion.
"Now we have a very buoyant market," she said. "But it is important, particularly where market conditions are weakening, that we actually be a lot more selective" in what to bring to the market and "prioritise quality over speed," she added.
The Securities and Futures Commission is an independent body set up in 1989 to regulate Hong Kong's securities and futures markets.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Joe Bavier)
