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Hong Kong stockbrokers rush to insure staff for typhoon-day work before new rules kick in
- The insurance sector is busy helping Hong Kong’s 600 stockbrokers get their staff the coverage they require for working through typhoons and other savage weather when the rules change in September, say industry players
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The insurance sector is busy helping Hong Kong’s 600 stockbrokers get their staff the coverage they require for working through typhoons and other savage weather when the rules change in September, according to industry players.
The bourse operator, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), will allow the trading of stocks and derivatives to continue during severe storms and torrential rain starting from September 23. The move will scrap the 70-year-old practice of halting trading on markets or shutting them down entirely when the observatory issues a No 8 typhoon signal or black rainstorm alert.
Many of the city’s stockbrokers have been reassessing their trading systems and insurance coverage to prepare for the new regime, according to Tom Chan Pak-lam, permanent honorary president of the Institute of Securities Dealers.
“Hong Kong stockbrokers would need to review their systems to make sure their staff can work from home during the typhoons when the market will continue to trade in September,” he said.
“Still, it is expected some brokerage staff may still need to go to the office during the typhoons. Many brokerage firms are now reviewing their insurance coverage to make sure their staff can get sufficient insurance protection to prepare for stock market trading during a typhoon.”
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The insurance sector has a wide range of products that can cover the stockbrokers in case their staff need to go to work during a typhoon, said Chan Kin-por, a veteran insurer who is also the city’s lawmaker for the sector.
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