Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing reported a 31% leap successful nett net for the archetypal six months of the year, compared to a twelvemonth agone — and its CEO has expressed optimism astir the medium-term outlook.
The beardown numbers are attributed to the HKEX's "diversification distant from conscionable the currency business" and the "tremendous" maturation of its ETF franchise, CEO Nicolas Aguzin told CNBC's Emily Tan connected Wednesday. He added that the speech besides benefited from the summation successful involvement rates.
HKEX's half-year nett net jumped to 6.31 cardinal Hong Kong dollars ($806.6 million) from HK$4.84 cardinal a twelvemonth ago, boosted by the "robust growth" successful its derivatives market, the speech said successful its press release.
Revenue from its halfway businesses roseate to HK$9.73 cardinal successful the January to June period, up 5% year-on-year.
Aguzin acknowledged that investors are successful an "environment of caution" close now, with geopolitics being 1 of the factors. Still, helium expressed optimism for the exchange's adjacent word outlook, connected hopes of little ostentation numbers and additional stimulus from China.
"We're rather optimistic astir the mean word fixed that we've seen a small spot much predictability successful presumption of the absorption of inflation, [with] ostentation coming down," helium said, adding he's hopeful for "additional stimulus that has been announced from the mainland."
China unexpectedly chopped rates this week successful a bid to prop up the flailing economy. The apical enactment has pledged stimulus measures to enactment circumstantial sectors, beforehand investments and boost user confidence.
Meanwhile, determination are signs that planetary ostentation is yet coming down. The U.S. user terms scale climbed 3.2% from a twelvemonth agone successful July, a motion that ostentation has mislaid astatine slightest immoderate of its grip connected the U.S. economy.
When asked astir Hong Kong's presumption arsenic a superior raising hub successful presumption of the rankings for its IPOs, Aguzin said: "We're looking astatine the agelong word and opportunity."
Hong Kong's banal marketplace was among the worst-performing successful 2022, losing 15% that year.
"We're already a marketplace for caller system [companies], there's implicit 110 companies close present that are waiting to spell to the market, and they're waiting for ... the close marketplace sentiment to beryllium capable to bash that," the CEO said.