The market value of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will surpass that of Tokyo in the next five to six years, according to Francis Lui, professor of economics from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Since Tokyo is focusing more on local listings and Hong Kong is rapidly developing as a financial center, Hong Kong has caught up with Tokyo in terms of the total value of its stock market, Lui said.

He said Hong Kong will surpass Tokyo as more and more international companies will list in the former.

According to the Global Financial Centers Index, this years's top three financial centers were London, New York and Hong Kong. Singapore and Tokyo ranked fourth and fifth respectively.