In an exclusive interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan said that the amount of capital raised in Hong Kong’s IPO market this year is very likely to exceed last year’s figure, as geopolitical factors have prompted some Chinese companies planning to list in the U.S. to shift their focus to Hong Kong. HKEX In the first half of this year, the government will seek market feedback on shortening the settlement cycle (i.e., “T+1”).The risk of widespread defaults among Hong Kong’s small and medium-sized developers is very low and will not undermine Hong Kong’s financial stability. Responding to a question about international geopolitical turmoil, he added that Hong Kong’s investments in Venezuela are very small.