[migao]

Hi there, I'm admittedly a novice in HK market, and would appreciate some advice about how to invest in stocks and funds here.

Here are some of the many things I'm wondering... I know, I probably should get some professional advice on these:

1) If I invest in funds through HSBC, even if I was a Premier customer I would still loose about 7-8% the same day that I buy the fund, as they typically have about 5% spread between buy/sell prices and then you need to pay fee of 5% on top of that, of which you get half off if you're a Premier customer => hence you loose 7.5%. Not a nice start for an investment?

2) If I would build my own portfolio while based in HK, my experience is quite limited and as HSBC customer I would easily fall to have my investment account at HSBC, not least because I'm used to their online service. Is this wise, or is it more advisable to open your investment account somewhere else?

3) As HSBC customer I've learned that I can buy stock in HSE, LSE and NYSE. But what comes to stocks in LSE and NYSE they leave me on my own what comes to tax. How much do I need to pay tax for dividends and especially sales profits for, say, U.S. stocks and UK stocks?

4) Then what comes to investing in HKSE, I'm mostly wondering where can I get decent information about the companies (listed in HKSE). I can get real time (or almost real-time) quotes and history share price data from HSBC and Yahoo, I can get some P/E figures from SCMP print edition but that's about it, is there any free/reasonably priced online resource - Chinese or English - that would have more thorough data and analysis about the companies in HSE?

5) Now that there seem to be quite many stocks with very high valuations, I had one more question, is it possible to sell short (HKSE stocks) through HSBC, or do I need to go elsewhere for that?

Thanks in advance... even small advice to above would be very helpful.

[Moving2HK]

Hi,

If you would like to avoid such fees, then go for index funds. Index funds replicate a certain underlying index, i.e. the underlying index is the Hang Seng and if it is up 2% then your fund will also be up 2%.

Up until now, there is not a big choice of index funds in HK. But here are some: http://www.hkex.com.hk/prod/etf/etftrd.htm

I would always go for index funds and I can tell you that most if not all of those investment bankers in Central chose index funds over managed funds. The feers are just way too high.

Shorting is possible in Hong Kong. I doubt that it is possible with HSBC. I also have to find out where I can do that.

If you are a beginner then I would go for funds and ignore single stocks.

[beachball]

Yes, short selling is possible in Hong Kong, but naked short selling is not, i.e., you need to borrow the stock in order to be able to sell short.

Some more info on index funds/ETFs in various threads, most recently this one:
http://www.geoexpat.com/forum/index-...ighlight=index

[Meerkat]

Originally Posted by migao

4) Then what comes to investing in HKSE, I'm mostly wondering where can I get decent information about the companies (listed in HKSE). I can get real time (or almost real-time) quotes and history share price data from HSBC and Yahoo, I can get some P/E figures from SCMP print edition but that's about it, is there any free/reasonably priced online resource - Chinese or English - that would have more thorough data and analysis about the companies in HSE?

I have noticed a couple of people asking similar questions on this site with no real answer.. do I take it then that there isn't a great deal of public information (in English) on the shares on the HKSE.


...kind of related... I am looking into property funds that specialise in HK and Singapore. Does anyone know of one (or two)?

[migao]

Originally Posted by Meerkat

I have noticed a couple of people asking similar questions on this site with no real answer.. do I take it then that there isn't a great deal of public information (in English) on the shares on the HKSE.

Some sources:

(1) HKEX http://www.hkex.com.hk is a rich source of data, including all the companies public announcements. I however call it a source of data (vs. information) as it seems to be quite a jungle to go through to find what you want, but still if you are focusing in a few companies only, this should prove to be really, really useful. Try especially this search of listed company information: http://www.hkex.com.hk/listedco/list...ctive_main.asp

(2) Yahoo Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com) is has delayed quotes for all stocks on HKSE, links to some news clips, but it's quite limited.

(3) Yahoo HK Finance http://hk.finance.yahoo.com would be better but if you don't read Chinese it's of little use. However there's a trick to get at least a hint of what they are saying -> try the following example link:http://www.google.com/translate?u=ht...&hl=en&ie=UTF8

[freeier]

the reason i don't follow hk stocks..
i am not native here. i am not familiar with the market. unless i get some interesting tips from friends and brokers i TRUST, i won't normally get involved in HK stocks.

on the other hand. i punt alot in singapore stocks and at time US ones with the big names..

so my advise is to stick to markets u are familiar with.
and what people say, comment, analyse just take with a pinch of salt.

[Gnuell]

www.quamnet.com/ also has some information, but for a lot of the information you need to subscribe.

www.bloomberg.com is also a good source of information and news.

www.investopedia.com will provide you with an introduction to investing.

Also short selling is an easy way to get into trouble especially since you yourself said that you were a beginner.

Does anyone here use http://www.hsbcnet.com/hsbc/research ??

Meerkat, I have been looking into Henderson Land 0012.hk not a fund though.

[philippe]

Originally Posted by migao

Hi there, I'm admittedly a novice in HK market, and would appreciate some advice about how to invest in stocks and funds here.

Here are some of the many things I'm wondering... I know, I probably should get some professional advice on these:

1) If I invest in funds through HSBC, even if I was a Premier customer I would still loose about 7-8% the same day that I buy the fund, as they typically have about 5% spread between buy/sell prices and then you need to pay fee of 5% on top of that, of which you get half off if you're a Premier customer => hence you loose 7.5%. Not a nice start for an investment?

2) If I would build my own portfolio while based in HK, my experience is quite limited and as HSBC customer I would easily fall to have my investment account at HSBC, not least because I'm used to their online service. Is this wise, or is it more advisable to open your investment account somewhere else?

3) As HSBC customer I've learned that I can buy stock in HSE, LSE and NYSE. But what comes to stocks in LSE and NYSE they leave me on my own what comes to tax. How much do I need to pay tax for dividends and especially sales profits for, say, U.S. stocks and UK stocks?

4) Then what comes to investing in HKSE, I'm mostly wondering where can I get decent information about the companies (listed in HKSE). I can get real time (or almost real-time) quotes and history share price data from HSBC and Yahoo, I can get some P/E figures from SCMP print edition but that's about it, is there any free/reasonably priced online resource - Chinese or English - that would have more thorough data and analysis about the companies in HSE?

5) Now that there seem to be quite many stocks with very high valuations, I had one more question, is it possible to sell short (HKSE stocks) through HSBC, or do I need to go elsewhere for that?

Thanks in advance... even small advice to above would be very helpful.

1. Correct, the day you place an order (fund or stock) you need to pay for the fees and will most likely make a loss. This is not a big deal unless you are a day trader. They are ways to reduce the fees. If you buy a Fund type A you pay 3-5% fees upfront. If you buy a Fund type B you pay when you sell except that if you hold the fund 5+ years there is no fee (except the 1-2% annual fee).

2. I use discount brokers in USA and Europe. I still use HSBC here because it's convenient (not cheap). They are good discount brokers in town. You can find some names if you browse this forum.

3. No need to worry about taxes (true in most cases but buying stocks in your home country may be taxed e.g. US citizens buying US stocks...). Most of us do not have to pay profit taxes (foreign citizens) and dividends if any are taxed upfront. You mention that you can buy LSE and NYSE stocks with HSBC this is only true if you don't buy/sell online like I do. With HSBC you can only buy/sell local stocks online for this reason I have a broker in USa and a broker in Europe. If you know otherwise let me know.

4. They are a few publications and web sites for that.
Browse this forum to find the answers. HSE web site is a great source of info.

5. you can but you need to borrow the stocks first. still have no idea how this work but I don't short sell anyway.

Good Luck.