Tiger Brokers set to expand in Hong Kong to catch online rival Futu as city’s market breaks trading records
- Tiger Brokers is looking to close the gap with Futu Holdings after the Hong Kong market broke trading records in 2022
- Firm pledges to deliver online trading services with cheaper transaction costs and tech-driven support to attract new clients
Tiger Brokers, an online Chinese brokerage backed by Xiaomi Corp, will bring “cheap and user-friendly” services to catch up with main rival Futu Holdings as the firm expands in Hong Kong while Beijing tightens rules to stem capital outflows.
The brokerage offers zero-commission and zero-fee for clients using its platform to trade Hong Kong stocks, while fees have also been waived for transactions in US stocks and options. The firm earlier this month unveiled TigerGPT, a text-generating chatbot that can support traders in finding data and functions on its online trading platform.
“We see Hong Kong as a promising market,” Wu Tianhua, founder and CEO, said in an interview with the Post. “To differentiate, we are pricing much lower than our competitors as our clients are quite active in terms of trading and are also quite sensitive to transaction fees.”
Wu has a rival in its own backyard in Futu Holdings, an online brokerage backed by Tencent Holdings, which has bulked up its business in Hong Kong since at least 2014. While Tiger Brokers obtained its licence in 2018, Wu said it has only started expanding in earnest in the city from earlier this year.
“In the past couple years, the main reason we lagged behind our competitor is the gap we have in Hong Kong,” the 39-year-old founder said. “Although we have advantages in other markets, for example in Singapore, where we are the biggest online broker, we have to say that we are a bit late stepping into Hong Kong.”
