Futu Holdings Limited, an online brokerage and wealth management platform, announced the completion of a HKD440 million investment in Gravitation Fintech HK Limited.
Gravitation Fintech is the parent company of Airstar Bank, a licensed virtual bank in Hong Kong. Following this investment, Futu now holds an indirect 44.11% stake in Airstar Bank, making it the second largest beneficial owner of the bank.
Boosting Stake in Virtual Banking Sector
Futu Holdings is known for its technology-driven approach to financial services. The company offers fully digitalized investment services through its platforms, Futubull and moomoo. These platforms provide a range of services including trade execution and clearing, margin financing, securities lending, and wealth management.
In addition to investment services, Futu's platforms feature embedded social media tools. These tools help create a network for users, investors, companies, analysts, media, and key opinion leaders. Futu also offers corporate services such as IPO distribution, investor relations, and Employee Stock Ownership Plan solutions.
Introducing 24-Hour Trading for US Stocks
Moomoo, the trading app by Futu, has expanded its services in Singapore and Australia by introducing 24-hour trading for US stocks, as reported by Finance Magnates. It has enabled users to trade over 100 US stocks and ETFs around the clock for five days a week.
Previously, Moomoo supported 16-hour US trading daily, including regular and pre/post-market hours. The new feature extends trading hours, allowing users in Australia to access markets from 10 AM Monday to 10 AM Saturday (AEST) and in Singapore from 8 AM Monday to 8 AM Saturday (SGT).
This move marks Moomoo's pioneering 24-hour trading in both Singapore and Australia, following similar services launched in Hong Kong. Despite offering 16-hour US trading, Futu, listed on Nasdaq, continues to provide mainland Chinese residents access to US and Hong Kong stocks.
However, Chinese regulatory pressures have led to adjustments, including the removal of the Futubull app from Mainland China's app stores, while existing clients retain access to the platform.
