Hong Kong dollar deposits plummet 12 per cent in February new year holiday takes heat out of IPO frenzy
- There were only seven new stock market listings in February, compared with 15 in January, according to data from Refinitiv
- The decline in deposits was the biggest since November when the refund of Ant Group’s suspended IPOs
Hong Kong dollar deposits in the local banking system plummeted 11.8 per cent in February, or HK$1.02 trillion (US$131.48 billion), to HK$7.65 trillion.
There were fewer initial public offerings as the holiday marking the start of the Year of the Ox gave investors a break from chasing an IPO bonanza. There were only seven new listings in February raising US$2.07 billion, compared with 15 new listings in January raising US$7.64 billion, according to data from Refinitiv.
The decline in deposits in February was the biggest fall since November when the refund of Ant Group’s suspended IPOs led to deposits decreasing by 12.6 per cent.
The data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority showed the city’s financial system and banking sector are holding up well. Money is flowing in to the local stock market even as the city reports sky-high unemployment amid the worst economic recession on record.
In the last two years, Hong Kong has been rattled to its core by social unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic.
