Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) reported Wednesday a net profit increase of 254 percent to 314 million HK dollars (40.3 million US dollars) in thefirst quarter this year.

According to its 2004 First Quarter Results, the total income of HKEx for the first quarter increased by 246 million HK dollars ( 31.5 million US dollars) or 61 percent to 651 million HK dollars(83.5 million US dollars).

The great profit leap is largely attributed to the increased average daily turnover on the stock exchange for the period by 223percent to 19.7 billion HK dollars (2.5 billion US dollars), compared with 6.1 billion HK dollars (782 million US dollars). There were eight new equity listings on the main board and Grow Enterprises Market respectively.

Despite the inspiring figures, the HKEx cautioned that a substantial part of income is tied to the activity on exchanges, which is driven by a variety of domestic and external factors. while the Hong Kong economy appears poised for solid growth this year, market sentiment is likely to remain mixed.

HKEx said it will continue its efforts to improve the quality of markets and services to attract more issuers and investors, andfuture business development in the Chinese mainland is of top priority.

Source: Xinhua