Online trading in Asia-Pacific to soar

Online trading in Asia-Pacific to soar

SINGAPORE (AFP): Investing in stocks via the Internet is set to become more prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region in the next five years, technology research firm International Data Corp. said on Tuesday.

The firm said in a report that the number of online trading accounts in Asia outside of Japan was set to grow from eight million at the end of last year to more than 42 million in 2005.

This presented a challenge for the securities industries in Asia which was going through some consolidation, the report said.

"The securities industry in Asia-Pacific is facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities brought about by the emergence of new digital channels, market deregulation, industry consolidation and shrinking stock turnover," said Kit Yau, the firm's regional online financial research manager.

"It is important to sign up new customers as soon as possible and convert existing clients to online trading," she said.

According to the report, South Korea had the highest volume of online trading activity.

In 2000, more than 50 percent of the trading activity on the South Korean exchange was conducted via the Internet, up from 20 percent in 1999.

Online trading was poised to see a sharp increase in China, the report said.

"Online trading has grown dramatically over the past two years," the report said.

"Individual investors in the PRC (China) are very receptive to self-directed channels," it said.

The firm predicted that 22 percent of all trading accounts in China would be from the Internet by 2005.

Six economies were surveyed in the report including Singapore, Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

From San Francisco, Framingham, Massachusetts-based IDC, a high-tech consultancy, reported early this week that Internet spending would triple from $22 million last year to $69 million in 2005, despite the collapsing dot-com sector.

"As a result of the dot-com bubble burst, there's been much speculation that the opportunity for Internet services firms has evaporated," said IDC analyst Pooneh Fooladi in a statement accompanying the report.

"e-Commerce will continue to drive demand for Internet services. It's becoming an integral part of organizations' overall strategies, and it's becoming imperative to link e-commerce initiatives with other IT initiatives."

The United States will comprise the largest market for Internet services, IDC reported, accounting for more than 40 percent of spending through 2005.

However, western Europe currently spends more than any other region on mobile Internet technologies, accounting for 50 percent of 2000 spending in the category.