Accounting firm Deloitte on Monday said the number of new firms listing in the SAR in the first quarter fell 30 percent year-on-year to 12, with a total of HK$4.7 billion raised – down 33 percent year-on-year.

This marks the worst performance for Hong Kong's fundraising markets since 2009, with the city’s global ranking for initial public offerings (IPO) falling to 10th over the three-month period, the firm added.

However, Deloitte said it believes momentum will pick up from the second quarter, as it maintained its earlier prediction that 80 firms will list in the SAR this year, raising a total of HK$100 billion.

The city’s fundraising market value will also return to the global top five by the end of this year, it added.

Edward Au, Southern Region Managing Partner at Deloitte China, explained that the peak seasons for IPO markets are typically in the second quarter and last quarter of a year, with a pattern of “reaching lows before rising to the highs”.

Au said the stock market could see a surge following better-than-expected mainland economic data.

“We also see that the Chinese mainland government is determined to really stimulate the economy through various measures, like the reduction of the reserve ratio requirements (RRR) for banks, and the cutting of the long-term interest rates, these are all positive moves by the government in putting liquidity back to the economy to achieve high-quality growth,” he said.

“As long as the Chinese economy continues to rebound, and second, as long as the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes stop and there’s a sizable reduction in interest rates, the funds will re-position.”

Robert Lui, Southern Region Hong Kong Offering Services Leader at Deloitte China, said the firm believes that while technology, media, telecommunications and consumption-related companies have continued to lead the local IPO markets, the life science and artificial intelligence sectors will also be popular this year.

Separately, Bonnie Chan, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s new chief executive, said they received a total of 65 IPO applications in the first quarter of this year, a surge of 30 percent year-on-year.