Hongkong Clearing will organise an exhibition of the Investor Account Service in the MTR station in Mongkok from 21 to 22 January 1999. The first MTR exhibition was held in the Admiralty MTR station in August last year. Investors can visit the exhibition booth to collect application forms and make enquiries with company representatives.

Hongkong Clearing will also publicise the Service from the Investor Participants' perspectives through radio and newspaper advertisements. The radio advertisements will be on air from 13 to 21 January 1999. Three investors who have opened Investor Accounts will talk about their experience in using the Service. Ms Ng: "Sometimes I will conduct more than ten trades a day, and using the account to make affirmations is actually very convenient." Mr To: "Since I can now deposit the shares in my own Investor Account, even when the stock market is very volatile, I do not have to worry." Mrs Leung: "The fees charged by Hongkong Clearing are very low. As I do not need to deliver the shares and cheques to my broker for settlement, it saves my time." 

In addition to the MTR exhibition and media publicity, Hongkong Clearing will continue to introduce new features designed to enhance the Investor Account Service. Hongkong Clearing's spokesman said, "We will introduce the electronic IPO subscription service in April 1999. The service will let Investor Participants subscribe to initial public offerings using the CCASS Phone System. Replacing the current paper-based system with an electronic system will make it easier for investors to subscribe to IPOs.

"Together with the Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hongkong Clearing is studying the admission of Exchange Fund Notes (EFN) into CCASS for clearing and settlement, which will allow Investor Participants to tender for EFN and to settle them through CCASS.

"Moreover, the Company is examining the possibility of allowing Investor Participants to access their CCASS accounts via the Internet, and a study of admitting companies incorporated outside Hong Kong is underway.

"Hongkong Clearing will also continue to strengthen its services provided to Broker and Custodian Participants. Broker Participants will be allowed to have an additional Designated Bank to facilitate their management of clients' money settlement in the third quarter of this year, and a new securities-on-hold mechanism will also be put in place to minimise brokers' exposure to the risks involved in providing services to clients.

"We anticipate that when the stock market picks up and investors become more familiar with the Investor Account Service, there will be a significant upsurge in investors participating in the Service. Also, with the integration of CCASS and the Stock Exchange's AMS/3 order routing system, investors will be able to input trade orders through the Internet or an interactive voice response system and more investors will then apply for the Service." 

As of 8 January 1999, Hongkong Clearing has received a total of 1,887 applications for the Investor Account Service, including 1,619 applications for Individual Investor Accounts, 182 for Joint Individual Investor Accounts and 86 for Corporate Investor Accounts.