The world, apparently, has a new financial giant.
AMTD Digital Inc., a Hong Kong-based company that listed in New York less than three weeks ago, has surged so much that its market value hit more than $310 billion as of Tuesday’s close. That means the firm — which develops digital businesses, including financial services — is worth more than Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., despite reporting just $25 million in revenue for the year ended April 2021.
At least on paper, that makes it the third-biggest financial company in the world, trailing just JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
While those firms have a long list of shareholders, AMTD Digital has a convoluted ownership structure that ultimately leads to one key name: Calvin Choi, an ex-UBS Group AG banker, who’s currently fighting an industry ban in Hong Kong for failing to disclose conflicts of interest.
Despite that, Choi was on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 15, ringing the bell as shares of AMTD Digital were about to begin their upward journey. They’re since up more than 22,000% from the initial public offering price of $7.80.
It’s a mystery why the stock has surged, though some analysts have pointed to its tiny public float. It’s also not clear why investment bank AMTD Idea Group, another stock under the AMTD Group umbrella, has joined in the rally, soaring 525% between July 15 and Tuesday’s close. That stock was up a further 23% as of 9:50 a.m. in New York Wednesday, and was the third-most-bought company on Fidelity’s trading platform, indicating that it’s become a favorite of retail traders.
AMTD Digital didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. It said in a statement Tuesday that it’s monitoring the market for any trading abnormalities and doesn’t know of any “material circumstances, events, nor other matters” that could be affecting the stock price.
Choi joined AMTD Group Co. in 2016 as chairman and chief executive officer after spending five years at UBS.
Created in 2003 with backing from Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., it’s the parent of AMTD Digital and AMTD Idea Group, which is listed both in Singapore and the US.
AMTD Idea also has well-known backers. Century City International Holdings Ltd., owned by members of Hong Kong’s real estate tycoon Lo family, holds a 5.8% stake in the firm. A unit of Morgan Stanley invested in a funding round in 2019.