Hong Kong Investors Are Feeling Brexit Impact More Than Singapore Counterparts CSG Survey Reveals

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - Jun 28, 2016 - With the surprising result from Thursday's referendum seeing the UK preparing to cut ties with the EU, CSG -- one of Hong Kong's leading marketing research firms - have teamed up with Toluna to conduct a quick poll to determine the sentiments amongst investors in the top financial centres in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The results suggest that it is Hong Kong investors who are feeling most pessimistic about the outcome, with 65% believing the performance of their current investments will worsen over the next 12 months, compared to 53% of Singapore investors (figure 1).  Interestingly, in both countries, it is the older investors (50+ years) who are showing the most caution.  There is an obvious disparity between the age segments of those who have a more positive outlook of the referendum's result -- in Singapore, it is the 25-29 age group who feel more enthusiastic about both their investments performing better (29%) and experiencing more global investment opportunities (45%).  In Hong Kong, this trend lies with those in their 40s (26% and 35% respectively), while just 4% of young investors say their investments will perform better.

The results show that the already somewhat disillusioned Hong Kong investors have become even less hopeful about economic recovery occurring in the next 24 months compared to Singaporeans; only 31% of Hong Kongers are moderately confident that the Hong Kong economy will improve compared to 46% of Singaporeans (figure 2).  Again, it is the younger investors in Singapore who are more optimistic -- 55% say they are confident of economic recovery within 24 months.  Only 32% of Hong Kong youths are confident.

"Financial advisors should see this as an opportunity to connect with their customers and develop strong relationship with them" explained Executive Director, CSG Simon Tye.

As a direct result of the Brexit vote, over 40% of both Hong Kong and Singapore investors state they will look for new opportunities while more than one-third will continue with their original investment plan (figure 3).  In terms of the age difference, about a quarter of investors aged 50+ years are putting their investment plan on hold while young investors (below 50 years) tend to search for new opportunities.

Another notable distinction between the two regions is the impact on perspective on global investment that Brexit has caused; Singapore investors continue to have a more positive outlook with 63% saying they think global investment opportunities will remain the same or improve, while only 53% of Hong Kong investors shared this sentiment (figure 4).  Similarly, 13% of Hong Kong investors concluded that global investments will decline drastically, compared with 8% of Singaporeans.

One important parallel between the two surveys was both regions' investors taking a pragmatic and forward-thinking approach to the future.  This has already been evidenced in the UK where, according to the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong investors are taking advantage of the weaker British pound by snapping up London properties after the Brexit results were announced on Friday. Other immediate actions for both regions' investors include holidaying in the UK and buying pounds sterling -- a third of participants surveyed in both regions have made both of these their priorities.

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CSG

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Toluna

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About the Survey

Data was collected online using Toluna QuickSurveys platform from a random sample of 211 Hong Kong investors and 225 in Singapore.  The survey was launched within a few hours that Brexit result was officially announced and the responses were collected within 24 hours to capture the immediate reaction to Brexit that impacts investment sentiment.  For both surveys, participants were chosen from a similar section of society, being aged 25-59, living in median income and above households and who have investments like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, investment-linked insurance.

About CSG

CSG is one of the leading marketing research firms established in Hong Kong in 1982 offering comprehensive research services to clients in diverse industries and a marketing research pioneer in Greater China. The company has further expanded from providing regional to global marketing research services through connection with the Win/Gallup International network. CSG offer a full range of research methodologies and solutions, including innovative tools like facial coding and eye tracker.  Since 2013, CSG became a member of the INTAGE Group which is the leading market research organisation in Japan and is amongst the top ten research agency globally.  For more information, please visit http://www.csg-worldwide.com/.

About Toluna

Toluna is a leading provider of real-time digital consumer insights and empowers companies to brainstorm ideas, uncover new business opportunities and answer their questions in real time. Toluna is transforming the way marketing decisions are made by bringing consumers and brands together via the world's largest social voting community of nine million members across 49 countries. This real-time access to consumers is coupled with its state-of-the-art, market research survey and analytics platform. Toluna has 18 offices in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.

Toluna QuickSurveys platform is a DIY Survey and Analytics platform which supplies with enriched panel sources operated by Toluna.  For more information, please visit http://www.toluna-group.com/.