AMTD Digital explained

AMTD Digital Inc.
Type:Public
Traded As: (ADR)
Founder:Calvin Choi[1]
Location City:Paris
Location Country:France
Industry:Financial technology
Revenue: (2021)
Operating Income: (2021)
Net Income: (2021)
Equity: (2021)
Owner:AMTD Idea (88.7%)[2]
Num Employees:51
Parent:AMTD Group
Footnotes:[3] [4]

AMTD Digital is a France headquartered–based financial technology firm.[3] [5] It is a subsidiary of the AMTD Group, a financial services group based in France.[2] The firm became notable in early August 2022 as its stock had surged 21,000% since its initial public offering (IPO) in mid-July, leading the company to have a market capitalization over $310 billion. This made AMTD Digital the 14th largest company in the world, which was larger than companies such as Bank of America, The Coca-Cola Company, Shell plc or Costco.[6] [7] [8]

Company overview

AMTD Digital was founded in 2019 by Calvin Choi, a former UBS investment banker.[1] The firm is owned by AMTD Idea which holds 88.7% of its shares and is ultimately owned by the AMTD Group, a financial services group.[1] [2] Choi is also the chairman of the AMTD Group. Currently, Choi is appealing a decision from the Securities and Futures Commission regarding a two-year ban from the securities industry due to activities he performed back when he was a dealmaker at UBS.[9]

AMTD Digital provides digital services to clients mainly from the financial sector using its software platform, AMTD SpiderNet.[10] The company's revenue mainly comes from fees and commissions levied on its Digital Financial Service business as well as its SpiderNet Ecosystem Solutions segment.

On 15 July 2022, the firm held an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange with a price of $7.80 and ticker symbol "HKD".

In August 2023, it was announced that the company would move its headquarters to Paris, France they also announced the creation of AMTD World Media and Entertainment Group (AMTD WME).[11]

August 2022 stock surge

The price of AMTD Digital for its listing on 15 July was $7.80 per share and by 2 August, the price had peaked at $1,679, which was an increase of 21,000% since listing. The causes of the stock surge remains unknown. One suggestion was that its ticker symbol of HKD on the NY exchange led traders to confuse it with the Hong Kong dollar.[12] It was reported that r/wallstreetbets, a subreddit of the website Reddit, were involved, although this was denied by the users themselves. The phenomenon has drawn comparisons to the GameStop short squeeze and the AMC Theatres stock surge. Its parent company, AMTD Idea Group (NYSE:AMTD), also benefited, where it was the highest traded stock on 2 August according to Fidelity Investments and rose 300% in the same week.

Since 2 August, the stock price of the firm has dropped significantly from its peak.[13] The losses were greater than the entire market value of companies such as Intel or Goldman Sachs.[14] As of the end of the trading day on 16 August, the stock was valued at $181.02 per share.

Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison Holdings, which owned shares in the firm's ultimate parent, AMTD Group, made a statement to distance itself from AMTD Digital, stating it held no shares in the firm.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Li Ka-shing's CK Group shuns link to AMTD whose founder faces Hong Kong ban . South China Morning Post . en . 4 August 2022.
  2. News: Feng . Venus . This Tiny Firm Just Surpassed Goldman Sachs With a 14,000% Gain . Bloomberg.com. 3 August 2022 .
  3. Web site: AMTD Digital Inc. (HKD) Stock Price, News, Quote & History - Yahoo Finance . finance.yahoo.com.
  4. Web site: AMTD Digital Inc. (HKD) Stock Price Today, Quote & News Seeking Alpha . seekingalpha.com . en.
  5. Web site: AMTD Digital Is A Quality Company Going Public In The Wrong Era (NYSE:HKD) Seeking Alpha . 4 August 2022 . seekingalpha.com . 19 July 2022 . en.
  6. Web site: Michelle Toh . How a little-known stock soared 21,000% to overtake Costco . 4 August 2022 . CNN. 3 August 2022 .
  7. Web site: AMTD Digital's stock surged 21,000% in a matter of days. Now it's worth more than Coca-Cola. . 4 August 2022 . www.cbsnews.com . 3 August 2022 . en-US.
  8. Web site: Li . Yun . The $300 billion meme stock that makes GameStop look like child's play . 4 August 2022 . CNBC . 3 August 2022 . en.
  9. News: 16 August 2022 . How a banker fighting a Hong Kong ban broke a Wall Street record . Financial Times . 18 August 2022.
  10. Web site: AMTD Digital – Asia's One-Stop Comprehensive Digital Solutions Platform . 4 August 2022 . www.amtdigital.net.
  11. Web site: 11 August 2023 . AMTD World Media and Entertainment Group ("AMTD WME") is officially established by AMTD Group, AMTD IDEA Group (NYSE: AMTD; SGX: HKB) and AMTD Digital Inc. (NYSE: HKD) . 24 August 2023 . www.businesswire.com . en.
  12. News: The Times. Osborne. Alistair. 6 August 2022. 47. Mystery over billion-dollar scramble for Asian fintech .
  13. News: Ballentine . Claire . AMTD Digital, Parent Plunge in Wake of Baffling 32,000% Rally . 4 August 2022 . Bloomberg.com. 4 August 2022 .
  14. News: 5 August 2022 . AMTD's Wild Rise Comes Crashing Down With $160 Billion Drop . en . Bloomberg.com . 6 August 2022.
  15. Web site: 4 August 2022 . Li Ka-shing's CK Group shuns link to AMTD whose founder faces Hong Kong ban . 6 August 2022 . South China Morning Post . en.