FAQ
FAQ about Account Opening
| 1. | Q：If the security account is a joint account, is it necessary for the stock options account to be a joint account under the same names? |
| A：Yes. This is because stock options account is a sub-account under security account. | |
| 2. | Q：Can the security account and stock option account be operated by different authorized persons? Is it possible for one of the account to be operated by an authorized person and another account to have no authorized person? |
| A：No. The authorized person of security account and stock options must have the same authorized person(s). | |
| 3. | Q：If the customer has already opened a security account which includes an authorized person, is it necessary for the authorized person to sign the Guarantee And Indemnity and Confirmation and Acknowledgement again when the customer opens a stock options sub-account? |
| A：Yes. The account holder needs to obtain signature of the authorized person on the Guarantee And Indemnity and Confirmation and Acknowledgement. | |
| 4. | Q：Is the authorized person responsible for the outstanding amount owed by the account holder? |
| A：Yes. The authorized person is responsible for the outstanding amount owed by the account holder. | |
| 5. | Q：Does the customer need to register in-person if he/she wants to add an authorized person to his/her account? |
| A：Yes. Both the authorized person and the customer need to register additional authorized person in either our headquarters or branches, and the authorized person should bring his/her identity card and proof of address issued within the last three months. |
FAQ about Charges
| 1. | Q：What will be the commission rate of I place order through internet and through phone on the same day? |
| A：Our system will identify the channel used for placing orders automatically. The commission rate of placing order through internet is 0.18% (min. HK$30), and that of placing order by phone is 0.25% (min. HK$200). |
FAQ about Trading
| 1. | Q：Where is the commission table for stock options? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A：Customers can check the table in our Company website->Futures and Options->Stock Options->Initial Margin Requirements. They can also check it by logging in the stock options trading platform and click the Bright Smart icon in Account Information. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. | Q：Is stock option available for every stock? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A：No. Generally, stock option is available only for actively traded stocks. For details, please visit out Company website->Stock Options->Stock Options List | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. | Q：What is option premium? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A：The option premium is the cost of an option, or the price it is traded at. The price of stock options traded on SEHK is quoted on a per share basis. It is the seller who receives the option premium. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. | Q：What are the procedures if customers want to create a Covered Call? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A：Customers should call our CS (25371371) for transferring the underlying stocks from security account to stock options account. No additional fee is charged for the service. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5. | Q：Can customers change the orders when the market is closed at noon? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A：Customers cannot amend the price or add contracts during market closing period and the system will reject the instructions and cancel the previous order. They need to wait until the market opens to place a new order. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6. | Q：What are the actions permitted for different periods? |
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| Remark：Auction period and auction order are not available for stock options. |
FAQ about SP Trader
| 1. | Q：Is the trading platform for stock options the same as that for stock futures? |
| A：Yes. Customers do not need to download again if they have install the trading platform for stock futures. However, the domain and subdomain for logging in stock options account are different, which are "soption.bsgroup.com.hk" and "soption2.bsgroup.com.hk" respectively. Customers should use their K account number for login. | |
| 2. | Q：Where are the prices of relevant stock options in the trading platform? |
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A：Market Information->Stock Options Master->Select->Relevant Stock->Month. On the left, right and in the middle of Stock Options Master are Call Options, Put Options and Exercise Prices.
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| 3. | Q：What is the meaning of the (*) symbol shown in the Position page of Account Information? |
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A：(*) means the prices of position are not the most updated. System will reload automatically when customers select that position in the Price Information window. |
FAQ about Exercising and Being Exercised
| 1. | Q：What should customers do if they want to exercise stock options? |
| A：Customers need to place order by calling our CS department before 4:00pm on a trading day. | |
| 2. | Q：Can the customer cancel or amend the order after placing the order? |
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A：No. Therefore customers should take full consideration and understand the charges before placing orders. |
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| 3. | Q：What should the in-the-money options holders cancel automatic exercise if they do not wish the options to be automatically exercised by the clearing house on settlement date? |
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A：Customers need to cancel automatic exercise by calling our Company before 4:00pm on settlement date. |
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| ４. | Q：When the stock option is exercised, what is the charge if the Company buys relevant stocks for the customer? |
| A：The charge will be the same as the phone trading commission of the security account. | |
| ５. | Q：If the short call held by the customer is exercised before the ex-dividend date but the customer buys relevant stocks on the ex-dividend date, is it necessary for the customer to pay the dividend? |
| A：The customer need to pay the relevant dividend, which will be collected from the security account. | |
| ６. | Q：What is the settlement price of the underlying stock on the settlement date of the stock option? |
| A：The settlement price will be the closing price of the stock on the same day. |
Other FAQ
| 1. | Q：Where can I obtain the notices about stock option published by the Company or HKEx. |
| A：Notice Board will pop up when customers log in to the trading platform. Customers can also check the notices on our Company website->Stock Options->Stock Options Notice Board. | |
| 2. | Q：What is capital adjustment? How does it affect the value of stock option contracts? |
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A：When a stock issuer makes changes to the capital structure of the stock by way of a special dividend, capital restructuring, rights issue, bonus issue, etc, the price at which the stock trades changes as soon as it trades ex-entitlement or on the effective date. This can affect open option positions. |
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| 3. | Q：Will the Covered Call position be affected if there is Capital Adjustment on the underlying stock? |
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A：Yes. As the contract size of options is changed after capital adjustment, the short call positions will be "De-covered" automatically and the customer will be required to deposit margin to fulfill the margin requirement of the short call positions. Customer need to buy additional underlying stocks to cover the call. |
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| ４. | Q：How should customer decide to open a new position if there are two stock options available for the same underlying stock after Capital Adjustment? |
| A：Customers should refer to the list of stock options published by SEHK and choose the stock option symbol on the list as this stock option is based standard contract size, with better liquidity. | |
| ５. | Q：How will the relevant stock options be affected if the underlying stock is suspended? |
| A：The relevant stock options will also be suspended if the underlying stock is suspended. If the underlying stock is still suspended on the settlement date of the stock option, the settlement price of the stock option will be the price of the underlying price before suspension. Options that are 1.5% or more in-the-money will be automatically exercised by the clearing house. If the customers do not hold relevant underlying stocks for settlement, they should wait until the the stock resumes trading to cover. Holders of out-out-the-money stock options can also choose to notify us to exercise relevant stock options. | |
| ６. | Q：What is Random Assignment﹖ |
| A：When a stock option contract is exercised buy its buyer, the seller must meet the obligations of the contract. To be fair, the clearing house will randomly pick clearing participants who hold short positions in the short position list to meet the obligations of the contracts until all exercising requirements are met. The settlement department of the stock option participants will then randomly pick stock option sellers in their customers to fulfill relevant obligations of the contracts. | |
| ７. | Q：What are the roles of market makers in the stock options market? |
| A：Market makers provide liquidity and efficiency. They are obliged to provide two-way quotes when requested, or on a continual basis - when there is a lack of natural interest on one side of the market. Hence they are the buyer/seller of last resort. |
