The painstaking conception of artistic creation
The average daily turnover of Hong Kong, which is dominated by the financial industry, was only HK$ 46 billion in the first half of the year, which made it even more difficult for local brokers in Hong Kong who were already in a weak position in the competition with foreign brokers.
? The quota (work quota) can't be finished every month. ? Akan, who has been a broker for two years in a large Hong Kong-funded brokerage firm, said that there are not many customers who are willing to buy and sell stocks when the stock market is in a downturn, and the company has to increase the work quota every month. In short, this is to make your commission insufficient. ? He said with a wry smile. Do you think that doing finance is to exploit others and enrich yourself? You are the one who is exploited! ?
Despite the complaints, Akan said that the company was also very helpless. ? The performance is getting worse and worse, but the office rent in Central is rising, and the salaries of administrative and IT support departments are also going up. What can the company do? ?
In contrast, the situation of this large local brokerage firm where Akan is located is not too bad. Mr. Xiao, who just left a small brokerage firm, revealed that the situation of his former employer had deteriorated to the point where he had to hire new employees? Sucking blood? The point is. ? Recruit new people at a low threshold, and then senior employees will induce them to open their own accounts and persuade their families, relatives and friends to invest in opening accounts. When they are useless, they will be fired. ? He said:? See a lot of people come in and dream? Get rich? As a result, I lost my savings and those of my family, some of whom are still in debt. ?
The general manager of the brokerage business of a Chinese-funded brokerage firm said that after the panic decline in May, the index lost its direction and the market entered a period of contraction and narrow shock. What brokers are most afraid of is this state of neither quantity nor direction, and it seems that this state will continue.
According to the data of Dealogic, since the beginning of this year, a total of 265,438+0 new shares have been listed in Hong Kong, raising a total of about HK$ 65,438+065,438+0 billion, a sharp drop of 93.4% compared with HK$ 65,438+067,654.38+0 billion in the same period last year. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which ranked first in the world in terms of financing for three consecutive years, has slipped to the ninth place in the ranking of new share financing for global exchanges this year.
A wave of layoffs
Compared with the previous strong transactions, brokers generally reported that less than half of the customers made transactions. Some people admit that there are more than 100 calls during the peak period, but now there are none! ? The basic salary of Hong Kong brokers is generally low, and even some small brokers do not have a basic salary system, and their wages depend entirely on trading commissions. In this case, more and more people make a living.
Because business is quiet during the day, many people can fall asleep, and it is no problem to work part-time at night. Part? After 80? People in the industry open online stores and contact customers by phone or email. ? Selling some small electronic products, the monthly income is 3000 to 5000, which is almost half of the regular income. Not bad. ? Young Chen said.
According to industry sources, since the beginning of this year, many brokers in Hong Kong have laid off employees, and some brokers have laid off 20%.
Dong Wei, chairman of Zhongli Stock, a small brokerage firm, said frankly that the company can only maintain a balance of payments for several months, and whether it can make a profit throughout the year is still unknown. He believes that by the end of this year, about 30 small brokerage companies will go bankrupt.
The bleak business environment makes some brokers have to? Tighten your belt? Two famous investment banks, UBS and Socié té Gé né rale, are studying moving out of Grade A office buildings in Central to cut down on huge rental expenses.
The monthly rent of Grade A office buildings in the central core area of Hong Kong exceeds HK$ 65,438+0,000 per square meter. UBS is one of the largest tenants in the central area. There are tens of thousands of square meters of offices in IFC, Exchange Square and Li Baochun Tower in Hong Kong, and the total monthly rent exceeds HK$ 50 million.
Seek self-help
Smart financial elites in Hong Kong are by no means all idle people.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which was hit by the market downturn, is actively developing its product line. Recently, its acquisition of London Metal Exchange (LME) has made positive progress, and it will enter the commodity market through LME as soon as possible, and get out of the dilemma of unstable performance caused by product simplification.
In order to survive, many brokers began to diversify. For example, Huili Securities, one of the leading local brokerage firms, not only provides securities trading, but also carries out options, foreign futures, foreign exchange, funds, bonds and other businesses. Huang Weijie, the bank's director, pointed out that since the bank tried to diversify its business, it has not laid off employees, but it is still recruiting people.
Another listed brokerage, Minfeng Enterprise, has also increased a variety of businesses, including corporate financing, financial consultancy and insurance intermediary services. And even extended to investment immigration business.
At the same time, more and more brokers began to contact their mainland counterparts. The most famous selling is Dafu Securities, the largest local brokerage, and Haitong Securities in the Mainland? Get married? , the former has become? Haitong international? .
Dafu's model is favored by the acquirer because of its huge customer base and numerous branches. Before the sale, the market value of Dafu reached HK$ 3.4 billion, and the number of customers in Hong Kong and Macao reached 65.438+0.5 million. Insiders said that they have been in contact with the mainland. Wait for the price to sell? Large Hong Kong-funded brokers and Sun Hung Kai Company.
As for small brokers, Hong Kong securities and futures practitioners will say that there are many cases of selling, and potential buyers are also from the Mainland. Liang Chongrang, vice-chairman of the association, estimated that the cost of acquiring a small brokerage firm has been as low as HK$ 654.38+million. For many mainland enterprises, it is worthwhile to obtain an overseas financial platform at such a low price.
Bright Smart Securities is widely regarded as a successful example of cooperation between Hong Kong securities companies and the Mainland. On 20 10, the Bank introduced Bank of Communications International as a strategic shareholder and listed as its sponsor. Under this model, Hong Kong securities firms, on the one hand, retain their own resources and major shareholder status, while expanding customers, are called "Hong Kong securities firms" by the outside world. Brilliant talent model? . Six months after listing, Cai Yao's customer base doubled and its market share increased by 10%. Chen Qifeng, general manager of the bank, said that such cooperation has been formed? 1+ 1>2? Effect.
For this cooperation, Tan, CEO of Bank of Communications International, a strategic shareholder, also believes that Hong Kong brokers have long-term customer relationships. If they cooperate with mainland brokers to make mainland capital a shareholder, they can not only retain their own value, but also have new funds to expand their territory and extend their influence to the mainland.
Push again? Double commission system? ?
At present, the situation of 500 small and medium-sized brokers who make a living by commission is even worse. Based on the average daily turnover of 46 billion yuan in June, each small and medium-sized brokerage firm only earns a commission of 24,800 yuan a day, and does not give meals to employees, even the rent is a problem. In view of the difficult business environment, the industry is planning to get a new boost from the government. Double commission system? .
Zhang Huafeng, honorary president of the Hong Kong Securities Institute, said that after the government abolished the minimum brokerage commission of 0.25% in 2003, some brokerage firms took the competition of cutting meat below cost to attract customers. This practice has caused serious damage to the overall business environment, especially when all operating costs such as rent and wages have doubled in the past decade, and the industry has fallen into an unprecedented predicament.
Therefore, the industry is planning to suggest to the government that it should charge 0.25% commission for resuming transactions below 200,000 yuan to balance some operating costs. Is this what the person concerned refers to? Taxi? I believe investors will understand the concept of the lowest charge 20 yuan. Under the scheme of 0.25% commission, most transactions below 200,000 yuan only earn one or two hundred yuan commission.
Cai Sicong, chairman of the Hong Kong Securities Dealers Association, said that small and medium-sized brokers have a hard time. At present, wage earners have a minimum wage guarantee, and taxis have a starting price. Should the government also consider the living space of securities firms and curb commission competition? If the bad market environment makes small and medium-sized brokers go out naturally, we have nothing to say, but we don't want the government's policies to accelerate the demise of small brokers? .