The economy of Hong Kong is a highly developed free-market economy. It is characterised by low taxation, almost free port trade and a well-established international financial market. Its currency, called the Hong Kong dollar, is legally issued by three major international commercial banks, and is pegged to the US dollar. Interest rates are determined by the individual banks in Hong Kong to ensure that they are market driven. There is no officially recognised central banking system, although the Hong Kong Monetary Authority functions as a financial regulatory authority.
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment banks, who also arrange for the shares to be listed on one or more stock exchanges. Through this process, colloquially known as floating, or going public, a privately held company is transformed into a public company. Initial public offerings can be used to raise new equity capital for companies, to monetize the investments of private shareholders such as company founders or private equity investors, and to enable easy trading of existing holdings or future capital raising by becoming publicly traded.
The Bank of China is a state-owned Chinese multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Beijing, China. It is one of the "big four" banks in China. As of 31 December 2019, it was the second-largest lender in China overall and ninth-largest bank in the world by market capitalization value, and it is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board. As of the end of 2020, it was the fourth-largest bank in the world in terms of total assets, ranked after the other three Chinese banks.
HSBC Holdings plc is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business links to East Asia and a multinational footprint. It is the largest Europe-based bank by total assets, ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.919 trillion as of December 2023.
The China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) is a Chinese partially state-owned multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Beijing, China. It is one of the "big four" banks in China, and is the third largest bank in the world by total assets behind the Agricultural Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The bank has approximately 13,629 domestic branches. In addition, it maintains overseas branches in London, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, New York City, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur, Santiago de Chile, Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland. Its total assets reached CN¥ 8.7 trillion in 2009, and it is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board. Its headquarters is in Xicheng District.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is a Chinese partially state-owned multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Beijing, China. It is the largest of the "big four" banks in China, and the largest bank in the world by total assets. ICBC was created on 1 January 1984 from what were then the commercial banking operations of the People's Bank of China. ICBC is majority-owned by the Chinese government and has remained so after its landmark initial public offering in 2006. As of end-2021, ICBC shareholders included Central Huijin Investment, the Chinese Ministry of Finance, the National Council for Social Security Fund, adding up to 69.3 percent under the ultimate control of the Ministry of Finance.
Ping An Insurance known also as Ping An of China, full name Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. is a Chinese financial services holding company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, banking, asset management, financial services. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Shenzhen. "Ping An" literally means "safe and well". It is ranked as China’s 6th largest company.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange is a stock exchange based in the city of Shanghai, China. It is one of the three stock exchanges operating independently in mainland China, the others being the Beijing Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The Shanghai Stock Exchange is the world's third largest stock market by market capitalization exceeding $6 trillion in July 2024. It is also Asia's biggest stock exchange. Unlike the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange is still not entirely open to foreign investors and often affected by the decisions of the central government, due to capital account controls exercised by the Chinese mainland authorities.
AIA Group Limited, often known as AIA, is an American-Hong Kong–based multinational insurance and finance corporation. It is the largest publicly traded life insurance group in the Asia-Pacific region. It offers insurance and financial services, writing life insurance for individuals and businesses, as well as accident and health insurance, and offers retirement planning, and wealth management services, variable contracts, investments and securities.
China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd. (CPIC) known as Pacific Insurance, is a Chinese insurance company. It was established on the basis of the former China Pacific Insurance Corporation, which was founded in 1991 approved by the People's Bank of China. Its headquarters is in Shanghai.
China International Capital Corporation Limited is a Chinese partially state-owned multinational investment management and financial services company. Founded in China in 1995, CICC provides investment banking, securities and investment management services to corporations, institutions and individuals worldwide.
Ageas is a Belgian multinational insurance company co-headquartered in Brussels. Ageas is Belgium's largest insurer and operates in 13 countries worldwide. The company was renamed from Fortis Holding in April 2010 and consists of those insurance activities remaining after the breakup and sale of the financial services group Fortis during the financial crisis of 2007-2010.
Guosen Securities Company Limited is a Chinese state-owned financial services company headquartered in Shenzhen, China, with more than 70 branches and 11,500 employees nationwide. It has offices in 47 major cities in China including Shenzhen, Beijing, Guangzhou, Foshan, Nanjing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Hong Kong. Guosen Securities provides sales and trading, investment banking, research, asset management, private equity, and other financial services with both institutional and retail clients in China and Hong Kong. It also operates a trading platform called GuoXin TradingStation.
Ant Group, formerly known as Ant Financial, is an affiliate company of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group. The group owns the world's largest mobile (digital) payment platform Alipay, which serves over 1.3 billion users and 80 million merchants, with total payment volume (TPV) reaching CN¥118 trillion in June 2020. It is the second largest financial services corporation in the world, behind Visa. In March 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ant's flagship Tianhong Yu'e Bao money-market fund was the largest in the world, with over 588 million users, or more than a third of China's population, contributing cash to it.
PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited is the largest non-life insurance company in mainland China incorporated in 2003. It was one of the three main subsidiaries of the People's Insurance Company of China.
CSC Financial Co., Ltd. trading as China Securities, is a Chinese investment bank and brokerage firm established by CITIC Securities and China Jianyin Investment in 2005 in a 60–40 ratio, as a successor of bankrupted China Securities Co., Ltd. (CSC). However, the firm now majority owned by Jianyin Investment's parent company Central Huijin Investment and an asset managing subsidiary of Beijing Municipal People's Government.
Bank of Tianjin is a city commercial bank headquartered in Tianjin, People's Republic of China and regulated by the People's Bank of China.
Bank of Qingdao Company Limited is a provider of retail and corporate banking services in Shandong province, headquarters are in Qingdao, China. Bank of Qingdao is regulated by the People's Bank of China, the nation's central bank.
China Telecom Corporation Limited (CT) is a Chinese telecommunications company. It is one of the publicly traded red chip companies of the state-owned China Telecommunications Corporation.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market, officially known as the Shanghai Stock Exchange Science and Technology Innovation Board, is a Chinese science and technology focused equities market established on July 22, 2019.
CN¥602.56 billion
467,631 (2020) [3] 
