BEIJING - Chinese firms swept half of the globe's top 10 biggest initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2018, with a surge in overseas flotations, a report by international accounting firm EY showed.

Tech firms China Tower, Xiaomi, Foxconn Industrial Internet, Meituan and online entertainment platform iQiyi made into the world's top 10 IPOs in terms of fund-raising, according to the EY report released Thursday.

The report said it is estimated that 205 Chinese mainland firms were listed in Hong Kong this year, up 28 percent year-on-year and a record high. Mainland firms rushing for Hong Kong IPOs helped the city beat New York to become the world's top market for IPOs.

US stock exchanges are expected to have embraced about 39 Chinese firms this year, up 63 percent year-on-year, the report said.

New listings on mainland stock exchanges fell markedly to 105 firms, down by about 76 percent compared with 2017.

EY attributed the plunge to stricter review for IPO qualification, which help force companies to improve compliance and competence.

Despite a fall in IPO numbers, the average amount of capital raised on the A-share market reached its highest since 2011.

The report expects IPOs on the A-share market to pick up pace in 2019 as China may launch a science and technology innovation board on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and experiment with a registration-based IPO system.