Jan. 3, 2007 (China Knowledge) – China is expected to surpass the Hong Kong stock exchange in attracting listings as more of the nation’s largest companies return to the Mainland capital market, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) said.

PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a press release today that Hong Kong is expected to receive HK$150 billion in IPOs in 2007 while funds raised through IPOs in China's domestic A-share market came up to HK$159.5 billion after the IPO market reopened in June 2006, according to the China Regulatory Commission.

PwC assurance partner Richard Sun told The Standard that predicts this figure will reach RMB 200 billion this year, beating Hong Kong's expected HK$150 billion.

PwC attributes the predicted rise to the expected increase in mainland companies seeking a dual listing in Hong Kong and China. The trend is expected to continue in 2007 as only about 50% of H-share companies were listed on mainland bourses as of end 2006.

China's stock market cap more than doubled last year to US$953 billion, as record listings by State-owned banking giants ICBC and Bank of China served to attract a greater deal of investor interest.

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