[Hong Kong Financial Secretary: Over HK$103 billion raised on listing platforms in Q1, emerging industries like AI flock to Hong Kong] BlockBeats News, April 5 – The Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government published a blog post summarizing the economic performance of the first quarter of 2026. It highlighted the active trading in the Hong Kong market, with an average daily turnover exceeding HK$260 billion in the first two months of this year, up 17% year-on-year. Market activity further increased in March, with the average daily turnover of Hong Kong stocks surpassing HK$300 billion, a rise of over 8% compared to the same period last year. Investors are increasing their asset allocations in Hong Kong, viewing it not only as a reliable financial safe haven but also benefiting from the stable economic growth in Mainland China and the influx of high-quality companies listing in Hong Kong, offering abundant investment opportunities. At the same time, global competition in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence has reached a fever pitch. From breakthroughs in core technologies and the development of upstream and downstream industry chains to the exploration of broader application scenarios, all require substantial financial support. Hong Kong's listing platforms are playing a critical role in this regard. The IPO market continued its strong momentum from last year in the first quarter of this year. As of March 27, the total funds raised exceeded HK$103 billion, ranking first globally. Including follow-on financing and other activities, the total fundraising scale reached approximately HK$237 billion. An increasing number of companies listing in Hong Kong belong to emerging industries—such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, robotics, autonomous driving, and biotechnology. Currently, there are over 500 applications in the pipeline for listing in Hong Kong. More companies are viewing Hong Kong as an important window for financing and expanding their global presence.