Hong Kong stock market a top global performer

A view of Exchange Square in Central, Hong Kong, China.[Photo by Edmond Tang/China Daily]

Hong Kong has one of best performing stock markets in the world, according to a report jointly released by the online securities brokerage Tiger Brokers and several media outlets including Southern Metropolis Daily.

The Hang Seng Index, or HSI, has sizzled this year, benefiting from strong momentum in the global market and stable improvement in Chinese mainland economic data.

An earlier report by China Securities Journal indicated the HSI had surged 28 percent by Oct 20 this year.

Based on more than 3,500 questionnaires, the Tiger Brokers' report showed nearly two-thirds of respondents gained profits from investing in Hong Kong stocks this year.

Of those investing in Hong Kong stocks, people born in the 1980s and 1990s accounted for 44.53 percent and 28.95 percent respectively.

Newcomers in the workplace and people recently promoted to midlevel management positions in companies have become the mainstream among H-share investors.

The report also pointed out a majority of the investors live in Beijing, Guangdong province, Shanghai, Zhejiang province and Jiangsu province.

Moreover, 81.51 percent of the investors have a university degree or above.

Meanwhile, more than 85 percent of Chinese mainland investors preferred to invest in Chinese mainland companies listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, such as Tencent Holdings, Sunac China, Evergrande Real Estate Group, Country Garden Holdings and Geely Automobile Holdings.

The Tiger Brokers' report also showed 63.26 percent of investors rely on their independent research to invest in Hong Kong stocks. Chinese mainland news media and stock communities or forums are major channels for them to acquire stock information.

In addition, over one-third of investors find clues for investment from H-share-focused news websites or securities brokerages.

Nearly 90 percent of Chinese mainland investors started to invest in the Hong Kong market in the past three years. This indicates that programs of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, launched in 2014 and 2016 respectively, have provided more convenient channels for trading, the report said.