HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's stock exchange said third-quarter profit dropped 8%, as investor sentiment was hit by the Sino-U.S. trade war and more than five months of political unrest that pushed the Asian financial hub into recession for the first time in a decade.
Net profit for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) <0388.HK> in the quarter ended Sept. 30 fell to HK$2.2 billion ($281 million), the company said in a statement, while revenue dropped 6% to HK$3.3 billion.
Trading fees, which makes up the largest chunk of the bourse revenue, fell 10% during the quarter to HK$1.4 billion. Stock listing fees fell 13.6% to HK$394 million, although they were up 4% for the January-September period.
HKEX's earnings outlook, however, could be bolstered by a pick up in IPOs in the fourth quarter with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd <BABA.N> eyeing a listing in Hong Kong as early as November to raise up to $15 billion.
A total of $18.5 billion was raised by companies via IPOs on the Hong Kong bourse from January through to mid-October, compared with $21.9 billion raised on the NYSE and $23.3 billion on Nasdaq, Refinitiv data showed.
(Reporting by Alun John and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
