Record levels of derivatives trading but only limited growth in equities turnover has been reported by exchange operator and clearing firm Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx).
HKEx saw trading in Mini H-shares index futures increase by 18.9% from 2009 levels to 951,054 contracts traded and activity in H-shares index options rose 40% year-on-year to 2,750,609 contracts traded, according to figures released by the exchange for the period from 1 January to 15 December 2010.
Hang Seng index options beat the previous record for contracts traded in 2007 by 8.6% with 8,129,698 contracts traded in 2010; Mini-Hang Seng index options were up 60% on 2009's record figures at 458,654 contracts traded.
In total, there were 58,179,668 stock options traded on HKEx in the period covered, a 6.38% increase on 2008's levels, previously the highest recorded.
Hong Kong equities market volumes grew year-on-year by 2.7% with turnover reaching HK$11.9 trillion by volume, up from HK$11.6 trillion in 2009.
According to the World Federation of Exchanges, the market value of shares from domestically-listed companies reached US$2.7 trillion by November 2010, making HKEx the fifth largest exchange in the world by value, behind NYSE Euronext (US) (US$13 trillion), Nasdaq OMX (US$3.65 trillion), Tokyo Stock Exchange (US$3.54 trillion) and the London Stock Exchange Group (US$3.35 trillion).