In yet another achievement for the South Asian country whose growth prospects and policy reforms have made it an investor darling, India’s stock market has surpassed Hong Kong’s for the first time.

Bloomberg data shows that as of Monday’s close, the total value of shares listed on Indian exchanges was $4.33 trillion, compared to $4.29 trillion for Hong Kong. India is now the world’s fourth-largest equity market. On December 5, its stock market capitalization exceeded $4 trillion for the first time, with roughly half of that amount coming from the previous four years.

India’s equity market has been thriving because of robust corporate earnings and a steadily expanding base of retail investors. Thanks to its stable political system and a consumption-driven economy that continues to grow at one of the fastest rates among major nations, the most populous country in the world has positioned itself as a viable alternative to China, drawing new investment from both international investors and companies.

Chief investment officer Ashish Gupta of Axis Mutual Fund in Mumbai stated, “India has all the right ingredients in place to set the growth momentum further.”

The unrelenting surge in Indian stocks has occurred at the same time as a historic sell-off in Hong Kong, the listing home to some of China’s most prominent and creative companies. China’s appeal as the world’s growth engine has been undermined by Beijing’s strict anti-Covid-19 curbs, regulatory crackdowns on corporations, a property-sector crisis, and geopolitical tensions with the West.

Additionally, they set off an epic-scale stock market meltdown, with the value of all Chinese and Hong Kong stocks plunging below their 2021 peaks by more than $6 trillion. In Hong Kong, there are no longer any new listings.