The Hong Kong Stock Exchange building on July 11 Photo: VCG

IPOs on the Hong Kong stock market are rebounding, helping the financial hub to foster its position, a report by global accountancy giant Deloitte said.

The forecast is a sign of confidence in the Hong Kong IPO market, analysts said. The city has experienced social unrest for more than three months, and it has seen a sharp decline in the number of IPOs and the amounts raised, as officials warned that the city might slide into recession.

Deloitte expects enterprises that list in Hong Kong could raise at least HK$180 billion ($22.96 billion) by the end of 2019 if the capital market stabilizes after October or even warms up. 

The hub retains its advantages despite multiple uncertain macroeconomic factors and market turbulence, media reports said on Monday, citing the Deloitte report. 

As of September 30, Hong Kong will see 98 IPOs raising a total of HK$124.8 billion, Deloitte said, citing public data. Compared with the same period last year, the number of IPOs will be down by 38 percent and the total funds raised will fall by 49 percent. 

However, the return of super-large-cap listings including Budweiser Brewing Co APAC - AB InBev's Asian unit - will prop up Hong Kong's rankings from the fourth spot globally as of the end of August.

Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund Management Co, told the Global Times on Monday that a weak market performance and unrest have hit Hong Kong's IPO performance hard, but "a relatively high financing volume can still be achieved if more listings materialized during the third and fourth quarter."

"The report is a boon to market confidence," Yang said.

Logistics real estate developer ESR Cayman and Anheuser-Busch InBev both announced plans in mid September to revive IPOs that were shelved over the summer.

The report came as Hong Kong experienced economic downturns. 

Hong Kong Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has warned of the possibility that the city may enter a recession in technical terms. He made the comment in a recent interview with the Global Times.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) revised on Monday the city's 2019 export forecast to a contraction of 4 percent from a gain of 2 percent.

Exports from Hong Kong plunged 3.9 percent during the first seven months of the year, according to HKTDC.