Hong Kong ranks first out of 16 countries for the number of retail equities investors, according to a survey by Finder, a US-based personal finance site.
“Interest in share trading among retail investors is on the rise, with more people set to buy shares by the end of the year in every country. The Covid-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for people to start thinking about share trading,” said Kylie Purcell, Finder’s investments expert.
More than half (53%) of adults in Hong Kong surveyed have bought shares in the past year, and a further 20% are rookies plan to dip into the stock market.
Finder surveyed 23,659 people in 16 countries and regions for the research. Singapore (53%) came second in share-buying enthusiasm, followed by the US (47%), while the world’s average is 34%.
Hong Kong investors are mostly prudent in the amounts they invest; a quarter of them have put in less than HK$20,000 ($2,566) in the equity market during the past year, and 47% of them have not invested at all this year. In contrast, 14% of the surveyed adults have invested more than HK$160,000.
The research also showed that men (60%) are more into share buying than women (53%) in Hong Kong and across the globe, but the gender ratio is the same for new investors who plan to tap into the market this year.
Men were also found to be more aggressive in their investing style, with 18% of men saying they have invested more than HK$160,000 in the last 12 months compared with just 9% of women.
The discrepancy of share ownership among age groups is not enormous, but those aged between 35 and 44 are most likely to own shares, with 63% currently holding investments, followed by those aged between 45 and 54 (62%) and those aged 25 to 34 (60%).
Although only 45% of them own shares now, young people aged between 18 and 24 are the age group, with another 21% intending to make share purchases by the end of the year.
However, those aged 65 and above are the biggest investors, with 22% of them punting more than HK$160,000 during the past year.
