NEW YORK and HONG KONG — China has again outshone the US as the top venue for initial public offerings despite steep share price falls on the mainland and Hong Kong stock markets, highlighting the shift in global financial activity from west to east.

Companies raised $73bn from IPOs in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong this year, according to Dealogic – almost double the amount of money raised on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq combined.

Hong Kong retained its crown as the top bourse for the third year in a row, with $30.9bn raised this year. That figure compares with $30.7bn and $18bn, respectively, on the New York and London stock exchanges.

The results belied much weaker deal flow on mainland and Hong Kong exchanges this year, as market turmoil forced companies to delay share offerings and, in some cases, call them off at the last minute. The $73bn they raised was less than half last year’s total, compared with a 6 per cent decline in IPO fundraising on US exchanges.

The US last topped the IPO league tables in 2008.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index is also down nearly 20 per cent this year and China’s main index in Shanghai has […]