Hong Kong's securities market set a number of new records in 2004, with the market turnover amounting to $3.79 trillion as at December 15, $3.9 billion more than the previous record set in 1997.

Trading values of H shares and derivative warrants as well as the number of newly listed derivative warrants are also at all-time highs.

According to the Market Statistics 2004 published by the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Limited today, the trading values of H shares and derivative warrants amounted to $914.2 billion and $497.1 billion. A total of 1,197 newly listed derivative warrants were recorded.

The amount of market capitalisation also reached an all-time high �V $6.65 trillion as at December 2. The figure for the Main Board as at mid-December was $6.5 trillion, up 19% from the $5.48 trillion at end-2003.

HK ranks third in raising equity funds

Hong Kong's equity funds raised in the first 11 months of this year hit US$31.7 billion, ranked third when compared with other overseas exchanges. New York topped the list with the amount of equity funds raised at US$107.3 billion, followed by Spain, at US$38.5 billion.

In terms of the market value of shares of domestically listed companies, Hong Kong ranked ninth, with a market value of US$847 billion. New York again ranked first, with a market value of US$12.3 trillion. Nasdaq and Tokyo followed with market values of US$3.43 trillion and US$3.38 trillion.

New records were also seen in the derivatives market, with the number of contracts relating to futures and options amounting to 18,734,315 as at mid-December, up nearly 29% from the previous record. The number of contracts relating to stock options and Hang Seng Index futures stood at 5,416,902 and 8,109,139, representing a surge of about 28% and 19%.

As at mid-December, there were 888 listed companies in the Main Board and 204 in the Growth Enterprise Market, up 4% and 10% over end-2003. Among the companies, 45 in the Main Board and 21 in the GEM were newly listed.

On listed securities, a total of 2,006 items had been recorded so far. Derivative warrants accounted for 45%, equities 44.5% and debt securities 8%.

Average daily turnover up 54%

The Main Board's total turnover reached $3.77 trillion as at mid-December, a surge of 48% over end-2003. The average daily turnover was $15.8 billion, up 54% over the 2003 figure.

Changes were also recorded in closing indices. The Standard & Poor/HKEx LargeCap Index was 15543.96, a change of 14% compared with the 2003 figure. The Hang Seng Index also went up 12% from 2003, to 14078.54.

HSBC ranked first in the 10 largest Hong Kong-listed companies, with a turnover of $358.99 billion. Ping An Insurance's H-share listing was the largest initial public offering for newly listed companies, with a total of $14.34 billion raised.

Regarding the performance of Mainland enterprises, there were 301 listed issuers as at mid-December, with a market capitalisation of $2 trillion. This represented an increase of 19% over the 2003 figure. Among the issuers, 41 were newly listed.

The average daily equity turnover was $6.79 billion, up 60% from the 2003 figure.