The idea of providing real-time stock market prices on websites free of charge is not new. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), a subsidiary of NYSE Euronext, introduced a pilot programme in July last year that allows service providers to disseminate real-time last sale prices of transactions on the NYSE for free if they pay a monthly flat fee (the fee has been reduced to US$70,000 from the original US$100,000). Since the NYSE Realtime Reference Prices programme does not include key information such as the size of each trade or bid/ask quotations, the free real-time prices are not in a context in which trading or order-routing
decisions are made unless the service providers also offer the key market information.
Free basic Hong Kong securities and derivatives market price quotes are currently available on the HKEx website with a 15-minute delay. The delayed quotes are the most popular service of the website and HKEx is exploring the feasibility of offering free basic real-time prices from its markets on one or more websites in Hong Kong and/or elsewhere (not necessarily via the HKEx website).
Exchanges hoard their live prices as if they were gold nuggets, charging an arm and a couple of legs for anyone wishing to have live quotes. It is strange and peculiar that the average investor has to go to broking halls or call up their dealers to get live prices. I wonder what the commissions and fees #1 and fees #2 are for... why make it so damn difficult to get information. Information is VITAL for all investors, and that's the one thing that all exchanges have been making life tough. Think outside the box la... if we have better information flow, investors will trade more.
The HK Exchange move is timely and more so because the general populace of China is so scattered. The investors in smaller cities will things much tougher. If Bursa provides a similar business model, I think you will lure traders and investors from Australia, NZ, HK, China and of course Singapore. The general trend is to trade via your e-broking account. If information can be relayed via the net without charges, that can only help. Anyway, the free live feed still does not come with bid/offer size and rankings, so the exchanges will still hold on to the prized goose.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) announced last Friday that its information business subsidiary, HKEx Information Services Limited, has signed an agreement with each of the companies listed below (the service providers) for provision of real-time basic prices from HKEx's securities market at the six designated websites.
Service Providers (in alphabetical order by region)
| Company Name | Designated Website |
| Hong Kong |
|
| AAStocks.com Limited | www.aastocks.com |
| ETNet Limited | www.etnet.com.hk |
| Oriental Press Group Limited | www.on.cc |
| Mainland |
|
| Beijing Sohu New Media Information Technology Co., Limited | www.sohu.com |
| China Finance Online Co. Limited | www.jrj.com.cn |
| Tencent Holdings Limited | www.qq.com |
The Free Real-time Basic Market Prices Website Service (or Free Prices Website Service) will be soft-launched on 5 October in both Hong Kong and the Mainland. The trial version of the new website service will be available at the designated websites for investors to access real-time basic prices from HKEx's securities market free of charge from the soft-launch date. The service will be officially launched on 1 January 2010 under a pilot programme that will last till the end of December 2011. HKEx plans to review the pilot programme in its latter stage to determine whether and, if so, in what form the service should be continued after 2011.
The main objectives of the new website service are to expand dissemination of
The real-time market data content provided under the Free Prices Website Service comprises:
| | Nominal price/closing price and last trade price for all securities traded on the Stock Exchange; |
| | Indicative Equilibrium Price (or IEP) and Indicative Equilibrium Volume (or IEV), which are calculated during the pre-opening trading session, for all securities traded on the Stock Exchange; |
| | Turnover value and volume of all securities traded on the Stock Exchange; and |
| | High/low prices of the day of all securities traded on the Stock Exchange. |
| 1. | Why does HKEx consider the six service providers will suffice for the public demand for free real-time |
| The Free Prices Website Service will provide basic market data and is designed to provide an additional delivery channel for Hong Kong securities market data. The service will complement existing channels and market data services provided by HKEx-licensed real-time information vendors by increasing the variety of information services available in the market to meet different needs of investors. | |
| Existing dissemination channels will not be affected by the new service. Any party satisfying the licensing requirements can still apply for a vendor licence from HKEx and provide market data services to investors. Indeed, there are now more than 120 real-time market data information vendors, including eight Mainland companies, collectively offering more than 700 securities and derivatives market data services. Market data services offered by the Mainland information vendors include streaming real-time securities market data provided on the Internet. | |
| The new service will initially be offered for two years to enable HKEx and the market to get familiar with the new service, and for HKEx to better understand its impact on the market in general and the other market data services currently provided by licensed information vendors in particular. HKEx has committed to closely monitor market reaction to the new service and review the service no later than the last six-month period of the two-year pilot period to decide whether and, if so, in what form the service should be continued. |
| 2. | Was there any assessment of the likely impact on existing information vendors and revenue of HKEx? |
| HKEx believes the basic snapshot price data that will be available under the new service are not readily substitutable for the great variety of information services being offered by existing information vendors. HKEx believes the impact on the business of existing information vendors and HKEx's information income should be insignificant. | |
| HKEx also believes that the new service should be beneficial to the |
| 3. | Will HKEx further extend the data content of the Free Prices Website Service? | ||
| The real-time market data content provided under the Free Prices Website Service comprises: | |||
| | Nominal price/closing price and last trade price for all securities traded on the Stock Exchange; | ||
| | Indicative Equilibrium Price, or IEP, and Indicative Equilibrium Volume, or IEV - which are calculated during the pre-opening trading sessions - for all securities traded on the Stock Exchange; | ||
| | Turnover value and volume of all securities traded on the Stock Exchange; and | ||
| | High/low prices of the day of all securities traded on the Stock Exchange. | ||
| The new service does not include bid/ask quotation, market depth or broker queue information. HKEx has no current plans to extend the data content of the Free Prices Website Service. | |||
p/s photo: Bowie Tsang
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