- The Hong Kong Stock Exchange was founded in 1891 as the Association of Stockbrokers in Hong Kong. Two decades later, the association changed the name to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with the name remaining the same since then. The formal stock market can be traced back to the trading of financial, agricultural and other economic assets in the early 1800s. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange was not the only stock market available to the Hong Kong economy, though it has since merged with its competitors to remain the largest stock market in Hong Kong. Notable mergers include the merging of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with its three largest nineteenth century competitors between 1960 and 1980. These competitors were the Far East Exchange, the Kam Ngan Stock Exchange, and the Kowloon Stock Exchange. The stock market has remained relatively the same since the 1990s, though ownership of the stock exchange switched in early 2000.
- The Hong Kong Stock Market holds significant financial clout in the Asian world, mostly due to its large size and the multinational corporations that trade daily through its exchange. Thus, the health of the Hong Kong Stock Market is often used as a barometer of the health of Asian economies. Many western corporations also use the Hong Kong Stock Market as a significant source of revenue. For example, the international HSBC bank corporation (incorporated in England) holds more than $1,600 billion Hong Kong dollars in the Hong Kong Stock Market. The stability of Hong Kong's financial districts, as well as various international businesses, depend a lot on the health and stability of Hong Kong's stock exchange.
- The Hong Kong Stock Market is just behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange (in Japan) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (in China) in total capital holdings. This makes the Hong Kong Stock Market the third largest stock exchange in all of Asia. In 2008, more than 3,900 different businesses were listed in the market. The largest corporations holding capital in the Hong Kong stock market are mostly Chinese businesses, such as the Banko of China and China Telecom. However, there are some exceptions. For example, Manulife Financial (a Canadian company) and HSBC Holdings (an English company) are some of the largest businesses trading in Hong Kong (in terms of volume of trading).
- U.S. and international stock traders looking to deal in the Hong Kong stock exchange should be aware of both local and international developments that may decrease the value of asian stocks. While the Hong Kong Stock Market is relatively stable due to the large amount of trading that passes through its exchange daily, it is not immune to stock market crashes and controversies. For example, the Hong Kong Stock Market, like other international stock exchanges, was negatively influenced by the United States' technological bubble burst in 2000. Likewise, a small stock market crash was also experienced after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the Untied States. Area troubles have also pushed the value of the Hong Kong Stock Market down. For example, the SARS scare in Asia caused a small crash in Hong Kong stock prices in 2003.
- Stock traders accustomed to dealing in United States and European stock markets should take into consideration the various differences between the Hong Kong Stock Market and large, Western markets such as the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). For example, traders based in the U.S. but trading in the Hong Kong exchange should be aware of the time difference between the NYSE and the Hong Kong market (a 12-hour difference). Also, the Hong Kong stock market starts later than western markets and ends earlier, at 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. respectively. Unlike the United States markets, the Hong Kong stock market also shuts down for two hours each day, starting at 12:30 p.m. These time differences should be taken into account for those buying or selling stocks between the Hong Kong exchange and the U.S. markets.
