Fiis Remain Upbeat Over Handover
Hong Kong's last full night as a British colony may have been a nightmarish one for some residents, but fund managers of leading foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were not among them.
In fact, Morgan Stanley Asia Ltd and some other FIIs have lined up formal black-tie balls to celebrate the handover at midnight (9.30 pm IST).
The red sun that will rise over the island from tomorrow has not cast any shadow over the upbeat business mood of Hong Kong's FII community. Some FIIs have already drawn up plans to expand their staff and operations in Hong Kong.
According to a cross-section of FIIs, the trading community's mood is positive and the Hong Kong financial markets seem bullish. Trading activity on the Hong Kong stockmarket was reported to be brisk on Friday, the last trading day before the five-day handover holiday.
Says J Wesley McDade, executive director, Morgan Stanley Asia Ltd: ``The mood is definitely upbeat. We have seen the financial markets here do well (with indices touching a new high and Hong Kong red chips moving up). We plan to strengthen our operations further''. The Morgan Stanley Asia office has already completed 14 major capital market deals.
According to sources, Hoare Govett (HG) Asia Securities is also planning to increase its staff strength in Hong Kong. S Subramanian, director of HG's Indian operations, said fund managers in Hong Kong are confident that its economy will not change dramatically after the handover.
The list of upbeat FIIs includes Natwest Markets, which has a significant presence in the island