Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited (HKSCC), has introduced new features to the Stock Segregated Account (SSA) with Statement Service to provide users with an enhanced customer interface and more timely information.
Investors who choose to entrust their shares to their brokers or custodians can ask their brokers or custodians to open an SSA in HKEx’s Central Clearing and Settlement System (CCASS) for them.
An SSA is owned and operated by the broker or custodian. Through the SSA, investors receive statements directly from CCASS if there is any share movement in the account, and monthly statements showing the shareholding balance.
Streamlined Account Opening Procedures
Brokers and custodians can now open and maintain an SSA for their clients online through CCASS Terminals. Brokers and custodians are only required to input basic client information, select the services requested by their clients (eg, alert messages via mobile phones and/or email accounts) and specify the SSA password. With the password and the SSA user ID generated, investors can access the account the next day.
Electronic Access
Besides receiving statements by post, investors who open an SSA through their brokers or custodians can now check share movements and the balance in the account electronically through the CCASS Phone System and CCASS Internet System.
They can also view and download statements, which are now available in both English and Chinese, through the CCASS Internet System.
The CCASS Phone and Internet Systems are easy to operate. Investors with SSAs should receive an SSA user ID and password from their brokers or custodians. The ID and password enable investors to access their SSAs through the CCASS Phone System. After logging in to the system, investors will be guided by a recorded voice (instructions in English, Cantonese or Putonghua) to perform stock enquiries and other functions.
Investors who want to access their SSAs through the CCASS Internet System need to set up an Internet account at https://ssa.ccass.com. Investors can then use the registered Internet ID and password to access their SSAs through the CCASS Internet System at any time.
Alert Messages
Besides checking share movements through the CCASS Phone or Internet Systems, investors may request CCASS to alert them via the mobile phone Short Message Service (SMS) or an email message when there is share movement in the SSA. Investors can subscribe to this service by making such a request to their brokers or custodians when opening an SSA or at any time afterwards.
Further Enhancements
HKEx will continue to improve the SSA service. Enhancements in the following areas will be introduced in the middle of this year.