HK brokerage CLSA Premium forecasts loss of HK$170m for 2019

Hong Kong-focused retail Forex broker CLSA Premium Ltd (HKG:6877) today provided additional information as to the profit warning issued earlier in January.

Today, the brokerage said that, for the year ended December 31, 2019, it expects to record a net loss of not less than HK$170 million. The company stresses that it is still in the process of finalising the results for the year.

About a week ago, the brokerage warned it will incur a substantial loss for 2019 as compared to the net profit for the year ended December 31, 2018.

The Board attributes the loss to a variety of factors, such as a reduction in leveraged foreign exchange and other trading income earned from external customers due to a sharp decline in the number of customers and reduced volatility in foreign exchanges, which led to decrease in trading volume of the Group’s customers in 2019.

The Board also noted that regulatory authorities in different regions, including Australia and Hong Kong, tightened the regulations on leveraged foreign exchange trading, which led to investors’ restructuring of their investment portfolios in the relevant year.

Finally, CLSA Premium said that the global economy has entered a synchronized slowdown during 2019, which affected investors’ attitude towards investment in leveraged FX and commodity products.

Let’s recall that KVB Kunlun changed its name to CLSA Premium in December 2019. Back in September, explaining the rationale for the name change, the Board said the new name will better reflect the fact that KVB Kunlun is part of the substantial shareholder’s group of entities, including CLSA group. Furthermore, the Board believes that the new name will provide the company with a fresh corporate image and identity, which will benefit the Group’s future business development and is in the interest of the company and its shareholders.