According to a recent article in the Financial Times, the average size of initial public offerings in Greater China has overtaken levels in the US and Europe for the first time, mainly due to the number of Chinese companies launching multi-billion-dollar IPOs in Hong Kong, cited PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The average amount raised by IPOs in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Taipei surged from US$83m in 2004 to US$260m last year, a PwC report released last week.

This compares with a 22 per cent drop to US$170m in average IPO levels on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq last year, and an 11 per cent rise to US$100m on European markets, including EU member states, Switzerland and Norway.

The average IPO size on Hong Kong's main board alone surpassed the level on the NYSE, at US$410m against US$321m. Last year, Chinese companies represented at least eight of the largest IPOs in Hong Kong, including China Construction Bank, which raised in excess of $9.2 billion.

Hong Kong, the world's fourth largest fund-raising centre last year, has become the market of choice for Chinese companies seeking overseas capital, due to the territory's geographical proximity and the strong appetite of local investors for mainland listings.

Last year in public testimomy before the US-China Economic Security Review Commission, Howard Chao, Asia Practice Head of O'Melveny & Meyers, stated that " the market capitalization of Chinese companies on the HKEx (both H-share and red-chip) reached nearly $200 billion and is still growing."

CVN predicts a significant rise in China IPOs on the HK Exchange this year. Additionally, some analysts expect to see ramped up reforms in China and the government securities regulators are no longer operating at a glacial pace to post new rules for IPOs in the Middle Kingdom.