COL Financial, the country’s largest online stock brokerage house, is winding down COL Securities (HK) Ltd. and expects to complete its “deregistration” by Aug. 31 this year.
“With the entry of large discount brokerage firms offering near-zero commissions and a rapidly changing investment landscape, maintaining long-term viability became increasingly difficult,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
COL Financial, which trades under the stock symbol COL, decided to close the business last year after stopping trading operations in May.
Hong Kong unit was unprofitable
As a result, the Hong Kong business recorded a net loss of P20.5 million last year, while its Philippine operations remained profitable at P506.1 million.
In 2023, the Hong Kong segment posted a loss of P20.46 million on revenues of P2.5 million.
The company established its Hong Kong operations in June 20, 2001, giving investors access to Hong Kong stocks. This was eventually expanded in 2014 to allow clients to trade stocks in Japan, the US, Singapore, Germany, and China.
COL’s PH business grew in 2024
The vast majority of COL Financial’s revenue came from its Philippine operations, which grew almost 10 percent to about P1.2 billion.
Net income rose 14.1 percent to P485.55 million.
COL Financial shares slipped 2.44 percent to P1.60 each, valuing the company at P9.5 billion.
COL continued to grow its client base in 2024
The company remains the dominant online broker with 553,098 accounts, an increase of 4.22 percent from last year.
“The strong market performance in the third quarter, along with targeted marketing initiatives focused on dividend stocks, fixed-income funds, and global investment products, contributed to client acquisition despite the overall muted performance of the PSEi,” the company said in its filing.
During the year, customers’ net equity also rose 9.3 percent to P117.06 billion, driven by investor inflows and dividends.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
