The number of IPOs (initial public offerings) on the Hong Kong market is expected to reach 60, with money raised through IPOs reaching a total of 300 billion HK dollars (US$38.5 billion), accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) said in a report Monday.

Fifty-five of the new shares are expected to be listed on the mainboard and the other five will be listed on the growth enterprise market (GEM), said Edmond Chan, a partner at the firm.

Chan said he expected most of the large IPOs, involving leaders in industries including finance, raw material and retail, to come in the first half given that rate hikes were expected from mid- 2010.

There were 69 IPOs on the Hong Kong market in 2009 to raise a total of about HK$240 billion (US$30.8 billion), the highest in the world.