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Hong Kong stock exchange operator HKEX posts record US$1.6 billion profit for 2021 as daily turnover soars
- The growth came mainly from higher trading and clearing fees on the back of a 29 per cent increase in average daily turnover
- Financial Secretary’s proposed listing reform to allow large pre-profit and pre-revenue start-ups to list may help improve poor IPO market
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Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), which operates the third-largest stock market in Asia, posted a record annual profit for a fourth consecutive year as brisk trading lifted revenue and earnings to record highs.
The bourse operator posted a 9 per cent increase in net profit to HK$12.54 billion (US$1.6 billion) for 2021, or HK$9.91 per share, according to an exchange filing on Thursday. Its earnings, however, trailed a consensus forecast for a 14 per cent increase, according to analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
“HKEX had a strong year in 2021, despite a turbulent macro backdrop and the ongoing pandemic,” CEO Nicolas Aguzin said in the filing. “Revenue and profit both reached record highs.”
HKEX has benefited from strong market turnover, which offset low investment income, said Aguzin, a former JPMorgan Chase banker who took over the reins at the exchange in May 2021. HKEX is well positioned as a super-connector to play an increasingly important role in the fast-evolving global capital markets, he added.
The stock declined 5.4 per cent to HK$394.6 on Thursday after the result announcement, its lowest level since December 2020.
Revenue grew 10 per cent to an all-time high of HK$20 billion last year, the company said. The growth stemmed mainly from higher trading and clearing fees on the back of a 29 per cent increase in average daily turnover to HK$166.7 billion.
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