Bank Vontobel's financial products arm has launched its first two listed derivative products on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in a bid to tap trading-hungry Asia investors.
The Swiss bank has a long history of structured products in Europe, and has in recent months ramped in Hong Kong in recent months. Investors in Asia, who tend to have a greater affinity for trading frequently than their wealthy counterparts elsewhere, continue to favor such products, which offer exposure to derivatives.
The Swiss bank said it wants to quickly expand on the initial issue of call warrants on Tencent and China Construction Bank in Hong Kong – the world's largest market for leveraged products by trading volume – with far more products.
«Hong Kong has one of the most active and, arguably, sophisticated retail investor bases with a big appetite for leverage products,» said Simon Yung, Vontobel's head of public distribution in Asia.
Yung said the bank had seen considerable demand for the products due to low transaction fees, variety of exposures and access to liquidity.
