HONG KONG, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia-based RHB Bank has decided to close its business operations in Hong Kong due to an increasingly challenging environment.
RHB Hong Kong, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RHB Investment Bank, an affiliate of the Malaysian financial conglomerate, said Friday that it will cease business operations in Hong Kong, as well as those of its subsidiaries, in a statement.
"The increasingly challenging operating broking environment in Hong Kong has resulted in losses being recorded for the RHB Hong Kong Group," the statement said. "As a result, it is no longer viable for RHB Hong Kong Group to continue its business operations."
The company said the proposed cessation is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2020.
Given an economy plagued by sluggish global trade and ongoing local unrest, small and medium-sized brokerage companies operating in Hong Kong have met increasing difficulties. It is reported that more brokers have closed this year than 2018.
Hong Kong's economy dropped 2.9 percent in the third quarter, the first year-on-year negative growth since the global financial crisis in 2009.
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