The Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Paul Chan, posted on his blog on the 6th that the momentum of Hong Kong stocks will continue to improve in 2025, and the number of applications for IPOs in Hong Kong is rapidly increasing. Chen Maobo said that in the first half of 2025, the Hang Seng Index has risen by 20% cumulatively, exceeding 4000 points, which is the largest increase in points in the first half of the year in history. In the first half of the year, a total of 42 initial public offerings (IPOs) were completed, raising a total of over HKD 107 billion, which is about 22% more than the full year of last year and currently ranks first in the world. He stated that the market is generally optimistic about the performance of Hong Kong stocks and new stock markets in the second half of the year. The number of IPO applications in Hong Kong is rapidly increasing, with about 200 applications received so far, doubling from the number at the beginning of the year, including companies from the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Chen Maobo believes that innovation brings incremental growth and incremental growth promotes development. In the recent upward trend of Hong Kong stocks, funds have mainly pursued technology stocks, which has led to a significant increase in trading of technology related derivative products. Exchange traded products (ETP) are one of the innovative models of convenience products and have become a driving force in supporting Hong Kong stock liquidity in recent years. Currently, there are over 210 ETP products on the market in Hong Kong. The ETF that is most familiar to the market in the ETP category has also seen continuous new developments in recent years, including overseas ETFs listed across borders in Hong Kong. Chen Maobo stated that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is actively promoting the listing of more ETFs with different themes. While meeting investors' interests and risk preferences, it will also more effectively guide the flow of funds to promote higher quality development of the real economy. I hope to leverage global market resources and consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's position as the preferred ETP hub in the Asia Pacific region through more institutional and product innovations. (New Society)