Market capitalisation to beat all forecasts with $150b mid-year
HUI YUK-MIN
Total market capitalisation of the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) should reach $150 billion by the middle of the year, far exceeding expectations for the second board, according to a GEM official.
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong had predicted that GEM's total market capitalisation would be $100 billion 12 months after the board's November launch.
But that target will be within reach this week with the added weight of Wah Sang Gas Holdings and Sunevision, a subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai Properties.
Wah Sang Gas Holdings, which began trading yesterday, added $1.19 billion to the GEM's market capitalisation.
Sunevision, which is to start trading today, is expected to add at least $20.8 billion and raise market capitalisation for the GEM's 16 companies to at least $98 billion.
Another 30 companies were seeking listings, GEM senior manager Connie Chung To-hing said.
"If their applications proceed smoothly, these companies would be listed on the GEM board in the second quarter," said Ms Chung.
The new companies are expected to push total market capitalisation to $150 billion.
The pending listing candidates were mainly technology-related, said Ms Chung.
Some were Taiwan-funded companies, while others were United States-based businesses, Ms Chung added.
On Tuesday, the stock exchange approved the listing applications of iMerchants, Caripac.com and GreaterChinaHerbs.
These companies are expected to add $4 billion to $5 billion to the GEM's market capitalisation, according to sources.
Meanwhile, the stock exchange is set to launch its GEM index on Monday.
Exchange chief executive Alec Tsui Yiu-wa said the index would be a benchmark for investors to track the performance of GEM companies. |
