Hutchison Whampoa has formed a joint venture with DLJdirect, the Internet broking arm of United States investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, to provide on-line stock trading in Asia.
The 50-50 joint venture will enable Asian clients to trade local and US stocks on-line.
It is expected to be in operation in Hong Kong by the third quarter of this year and in other Asian markets except Japan soon after.
'We are looking at more e-commerce exposure, especially in terms of exploring e-brokerage opportunities,' said Canning Fok Kin-ning, Hutchison Whampoa's group managing director.
Hutchison has announced two other 50-50 joint ventures in the past three months.
The company has teamed with US telecommunications company Global Crossing to form a fixed-line network venture.
It has also linked with e-commerce company Priceline to set up a portal to sell travel tickets on-line.
