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.[2][6][7][8] 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.[2][6][7][8]

AMTD Digital Inc.
Company typePublic
NYSEHKD (ADR)
IndustryFinancial technology
Founded2019; 5 years ago (2019)
FounderCalvin Choi[1]
Headquarters,
France
Key people
  • Mark Lo (CEO)
  • Timothy Tong (Chairman)
RevenueIncrease US$25.2 million (2021)
Increase US$16.1 million (2021)
Increase US$22.9 million (2021)
Total assetsDecrease US$394.8 million (2021)
Total equityIncrease US$372.5 million (2021)
OwnerAMTD Idea (88.7%)[2]
Number of employees
51
ParentAMTD Group
Websitewww.amtdigital.net
Footnotes / references
[3][4]

Company overview

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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.[3] 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.[5][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.[5][10]

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".[2]

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] AMTD WME holds 100% ownership of The Art Newspaper and L'Officiel.

August 2022 stock surge

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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.[6] The causes of the stock surge remains unknown.[2] 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.[2][8] The phenomenon has drawn comparisons to the GameStop short squeeze and the AMC Theatres stock surge.[2][6][7][8] 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.[6][8]

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]

Closing price and trade volume of AMTD Digital (HKD) from 18 July 2022, to 16 August 2022[16]

References

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