HKEx Q3 net falls 43%, hit by global sell-off
HONG KONG - Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEx) , Asia's largest listed bourse operator, said on Wednesday its third-quarter earnings fell 43 per cent as a global stocks sell-off slashed daily turnover and saw new listings grind to a halt.
HKEx, which has the government as its largest shareholder, posted July-September net profit of HK$959.65 million (US$123.8 million), down from HK$1.68 billion a year earlier.
The third quarter figure was also lower than the second quarter's HK$1.32 billion.
Fourteen analysts polled by Reuters have estimated second-half net profit at HK$2.37 billion, down 38 per cent from a year earlier. They did not provide quarterly forecasts.
Trading activity is not expected to stabilise until well into 2009 as fears of a deep and prolonged global recession and extreme price volatility keep many investors away from financial markets.
Shares in HKEx fell 18.3 per cent in the quarter, in line with the decline in the broader Hang Seng Index, which suffered its worst quarterly loss since September 2001 as the global financial crisis heightened fears of recession. -- REUTERS