THE Hong Kong stock exchange operator posted a 26 percent rise in first-half profit yesterday, as trading volume rose after a string of listings on the bourse by large mainland companies and due to high market volatility. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.’s (HKEX) first-half profit reached HK$6.61 billion (US$849.39 million) compared with HK$5.23 billion a year earlier. “Markets throughout the first half of the year have remained volatile, reflecting concerns over the path to recovery from the pandemic, continued fragile global geopolitics and concerns over rising inflation levels around the world,” HKEX chairman Laura Cha said in the results filing. Average daily turnover for securities in Hong Kong rose 60 percent, compared with a year ago, with volumes particularly high in the first few months of this year. This was also helped by trading via the stock connect program, which links Hong Kong with the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, reaching a record half-yearly high. Trading fees and tariffs, particularly for equities trading, are the largest source of revenue for HKEX, despite ongoing efforts to broaden its activities into derivatives, fixed income and commodities. Hong Kong ranked third in the world for initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first half of the year, according to Refinitiv data, with 48 companies raising a total of US$30.2 billion via both initial public offerings and secondary listings in the period. (SD-Agencies) | 