LI GANG XINHUA The participation of investors and the number of firms engaged in selling investment products went up last year despite the continuing Pandemic and difficult market environment, according to a joint survey by the Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
According to the survey, the number of investors who bought investment products went up 5 percent year-on-year to 770,000 last year. The number of firms that are engaged in the sale of investment products increased by 5 percent to 390 in 2021 from 372 in 2020.
The survey revealed a rise in retail participation in the investment market despite the difficult market environment and an increasing trend for firms to use online platforms for distribution, SFC Deputy CEO Julia Leung Fung-yee said.
She said it provides useful information on market trends and distribution channels for industry participants and regulators to better serve the interests of retail investors.
The total transaction amount of investment products sold by the respondent firms last year was HK $5.02 trillion $639.5 billion, down 12 percent from 2020. The drop in sales of structured products and debt securities was a factor in the decrease in the total transaction amount, according to the survey.
The drop was caused by the continuous impact of the COVID 19 pandemic, the expectations of interest rate hikes and unfavorable market sentiment and volatile markets in 2021, according to firms.
Sales of equity-linked products increased 5 percent year-on-year to HK $1.67 trillion a year ago, due to the buoyant performance of the underlying internet and technology stocks during the first half of 2021, despite the decrease in the overall transaction amount for structured products.
The transaction amount of collective investment schemes went up by 5 percent year-on-year to HK $1.49 trillion last year, while sales for debt securities decreased by 23 percent to HK $818 billion, weighed down by uncertainties in the interest rates outlook.
More firms sold investment products through online platforms. Seventy firms used online platforms to distribute investment products, up 21 percent from the previous survey.
Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang, HKMA deputy chief executive, said that the joint product survey strengthens the supervisory collaboration between the SFC and the HKMA and strengthens the surveillance of the market. The survey provides valuable input to our policy formulation and supervisory work in protecting investors.