The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong will rank the third behind the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) by the end of the year, professional services organization Deloitte forecast on Thursday.

Hong Kong's Initial Public Offering (IPO) market has clearly diversified in its role not just as a preferred listing destination for blue-chips and large Chinese mainland businesses or state-owned enterprises, but also a fund-raising venue for potentially high-growth local and international small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), said Edward Au, co-leader of national public offering group of Deloitte China.

Despite the vibrant performance from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, the NYSE took a firm lead in IPO proceeds raised by end of this third quarter due to three mega IPOs during the first six months of this year.

With the emergence of more large offerings, Hong Kong is anticipated to be able to maintain the third position over Shenzhen, which is primarily dominated by smaller offerings.

Au also welcomed the strong ongoing support from both the government and regulators for policies and measures such as a plan for developing the cluster of cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area and the Lok Ma Chau Loop as well as market consultations on enhancing Hong Kong's listing regime.

These developments in aggregate are believed to help strengthen the ecosystem of Hong Kong's new economy and high growth sectors and the position of Hong Kong as a preferred listing and financing platform, he said.