DigitalCFO Newsroom | 21 June 2022
Jerry Tse, the Chief Executive Officer of Eddid Financial Group, believes that as an investment customer, the safety of capital is a decisive factor in the choice of financial services.
The global financial market has been volatile in recent years due to the epidemic, which has caused many local securities firms, especially small and medium-sized ones, to face operational difficulties and even close down. It is fair to say that the market is in a situation of survival of the fittest.
Jerry Tse, the Chief Executive Officer of Eddid Financial Group (hereinafter referred to as “Eddid Financial“), believes that as an investment customer, the safety of capital is a decisive factor in the choice of financial services. While most people choose large, well-known banks over small, medium or virtual banks, the same case happened in financial investments. Thus, securities firms can hardly compete with strong state-owned enterprises and foreign financial institutions if they only focus on maintaining their traditional business.
Making Contributions To Financial Industry By Developing Systems
As a local securities firm rooted in Hong Kong, Eddid Financial has stepped out of the box and adopted differentiation as its market orientation, focusing on providing innovative services and products, of which its FinTech (Financial Technology) division is the largest in the company’s business, accounting for more than half of all staff.
In addition to the traditional business of licensed securities dealers, Eddid Financial has also developed its own one-stop trading app, “Eddid ONE”. Jerry added, “While most securities firms purchase their mobile apps from third-party platforms and use their company names, we have taken a new approach by using our own financial trading system interface, which can be sold to other securities firms when it becomes mature.” He hopes to set a new milestone for the financial industry and make Eddid Financial become a pioneer in the industry.
Besides, virtual asset management is also a key focus of Eddid Financial‘s emerging business. Jerry admitted that virtual asset management in Hong Kong was still in its infancy and the Legislative Council was still reviewing the relevant legislative provisions to regulate virtual asset management in Hong Kong. In the meantime, many securities dealers, banks and other financial institutions were poised to enter this promising capital market, he said, adding that Eddid Financial has already begun its corresponding preparation.
Focusing On Online And Overseas Business Development
With a focus on FinTech business, Jerry believes that the outbreak of epidemic had little impact on the company. “As everyone nowadays knows how to use mobile apps or the internet to process transactions, and customers can open an account through Eddid ONE 24 hours a day with fast and convenient review, greatly enhancing efficiency and user experience.”
However, he also pointed out that the epidemic has caused investment clients to become more conservative and reduce their investment amounts during this period as they had less income. “This change is not unique to Hong Kong, but it is a global phenomenon. Although the epidemic has had both positive and negative effects as work from home becomes more common and investment clients may have more free time to deal with financial transactions or investment analysis.”
National or regional economic policies have a greater impact on financial markets, for example, the restriction on capital flows in and out. Jerry said, “It used to be relatively easy for the mainland clients to open accounts in Hong Kong, but now it is basically much tighter, plus the inflow and outflow of RMB is a concern for the financial market. We are also planning to set long term development in the markets of other countries or regions apart from Hong Kong and the mainland China.”
Seeking Market Expansion Against The Economic Recession
The global economic uncertainty in recent years has prompted many of our counterparts in the financial sector to slow down their business development. In order to take advantage of the market, Eddid Financial has decided to expand its business globally in terms of location, talent and business expansion, including setting up a new full-floor office in Hong Kong, which can accommodate 160 to 180 staff to cope with the business development.
“With more than 200 colleagues from Shenzhen and other parts of China, it is like an innovation and technology base for the development of FinTech business. In terms of manpower, we have also started to recruit professionals from various fields, and we have increased manpower in many business lines. For example, the new Wealth Management department which serves high-end clients, requires professionals responsible for wealth management products and marketing in order to meet the company’s development needs.”
Eddid Financial, which has previously focused on securities and futures, is diversifying into new lines of business, including a retail business providing wealth management and asset management services to professional investors and high-net-worth clients (HNW), as well as a buy-side business such as direct investment, with a view to breaking the traditional constraints of corporate finance. “With the rapid pace of market change as technology advances, a second’s hesitation or a step backward from our peers creates more room for our growth,” Jerry stressed.
Attracting Excellent Talents To The Top Management Team
The future of the financial sector is closely linked to the future of Hong Kong as a whole. Jerry pointed out that demand for asset and wealth management have been increasing in recent years. By the end of 2020, the total value of assets and wealth management business in Hong Kong reached HK $35 trillion. Among them, virtual assets and the technologies behind them, including blockchain, have brought many potential opportunities in financial innovation and attracted professional investors like foreign companies. So, there is a great need for more talents to enter the industry.
However, the loss of local professionals from all walks of life, fueled by emigration, has made it even more difficult to recruit talents. Jerry said, “We definitely want to recruit outstanding talents, but high-quality job seekers also have freedom to choose their own careers. Why would they choose to join our company rather than other foreign or state-owned securities firms? That’s why we invite the best talents from different fields to join our management team and create a platform for them to develop their strengths. We hope to impress the market talents with their personal career satisfaction.”
To support the Group’s business development, Jerry revealed that the Group would recruit professionals in the areas of wealth management, corporate finance, private equity, FinTech, internet finance, risk management and compliance, human resources and administration, etc., to provide investors with a full range of quality global financial services. “Rooted in Hong Kong with global layout” is the core value and objective of Eddid Financial, as well as the overall direction of Hong Kong’s development.
