Hong Kong Stock Services

A normal order is an enhanced limit order that allows you to set a maximum price for a buy order or a minimum price for a sell order as the order price. An input control mechanism is put in place to ensure that the order price is not set too far away from the current market price when the order is placed, such that (a) the order price for a buy order shall be set within the range of 19 spreads higher than and 100 spreads lower than that current bid price; or (b) the order price for a sell order shall be set within the range of 19 spreads lower than and 100 spreads higher than that current ask price. Any unfilled portion of a normal order will be queued for matching until the relevant order expiration date.

Generally, placing a normal order does not guarantee its execution even when the market price reaches your set order price if other orders may have been queued ahead of yours.

At-auction Limit Order (Pre-opening Session, POS)

1. An at-auction limit order (Pre-opening Session) is a limit order which you may place with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong for processing during the Pre-opening Session (9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.) on any relevant Hong Kong trading day. It usually enjoys a lower auction matching priority than an at-auction order.
2. Any filled at-auction limit order (in whole or in part) will be executed at the final traded price of the Pre-opening Session (i.e. the final Indicative Equilibrium Price (IEP)). If any Pre-opening Session is not available for whatever reason or when it closes on any Hong Kong trading day, any unfilled at-auction limit order (in whole or in part) queued in the exchange with an input price not deviating nine times or more from the final traded price of the Pre-opening Session, (i.e., the final Indicative Equilibrium Price (IEP)) will be converted to a limit order at 9:30 a.m. at the same input price and carried forward to the Continuous Trading Session(9:30 a.m.-12:00noon; 1:00p.m.- 4:00 p.m.) on that same trading day for processing.
3. Good-Till-Date (GTD) feature is supported for at-auction limit order (Pre-opening session). Within the good-till-date of a single good-till-date order, all the portion(s) thereof filled on any trading day shall be aggregated as one single order for that trading day for the purpose of calculating the fees and charges based on the normal fees and charges schedule and the executed price on that trading day.
4. Order type cannot be amended via order modification function. If you want to change the order type (from at-auction limit order to at-auction order, or vice versa), you will need to cancel the original order and input a new order of another order type.
5. For at-auction limit order processed in the Pre-opening Session on any Hong Kong trading day,
   • any new orders may be placed after market randomly closes in Random Closing Period (4:08 p.m. - 4:10 p.m.) on the previous Hong Kong trading day until matching randomly starts in Random Matching period (9:20 a.m. - 9:22 a.m.); and
   • any order modification or cancellation instructions may be placed after market randomly closes in Random Closing Period (4:08 p.m. - 4:10 p.m.) on the previous Hong Kong trading day until the end of Order Input Period (9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.).

At-auction Order (Pre-opening Session, POS)

1. An at-auction order (Pre-opening Session) is a market order (without a specified limit price) which you may place with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong for processing during Pre-opening Session(9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.) on any relevant Hong Kong trading day. It usually enjoys a higher auction matching priority than an at-auction limit order and only sell instruction for such order is available at Citibank^®.
2. Any filled at-auction order (in whole or in part) will be executed at the final traded price of the Pre-opening Session (i.e. the final Indicative Equilibrium Price (IEP)). If any Pre-opening Session is not available for whatever reason or when it closes on any Hong Kong trading day, any unfilled at-auction order (in whole or in part) will lapse at 9:30 a.m. on that same trading day.
3. Order type cannot be amended via order modification function. If you want to change the order type (from at-auction order to at-auction limit order, or vice versa), you will need to cancel the original order and input a new order of another order type.
4. For at-auction order processed in the Pre-opening Session on any Hong Kong trading day,
   • any new orders may be placed after market randomly closes in Random Closing Period (4:08 p.m. - 4:10 p.m.) on the previous Hong Kong trading day until matching randomly starts in Random Matching period (9:20 a.m. - 9:22 a.m.); and
   • any order modification or cancellation instructions may be placed after market randomly closes in Random Closing Period (4:08 p.m. - 4:10 p.m.) on the previous Hong Kong trading day until the end of Order Input Period (9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.).

At-auction Limit Order (Closing Auction Session, CAS)

1. An at-auction limit order (Closing Auction Session) is a limit order which you may place with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong for processing during the Closing Auction Session (4:00 p.m. to a random closing between 4:08 p.m. and 4:10 p.m.) on any relevant Hong Kong trading day. It usually enjoys a lower auction matching priority than an at-auction order
2. An at-auction limit order is an order with a specified price. An at-auction limit order with a specified price at or more competitive than the final IEP (i.e. closing price) (in case of buying, the specified price is equal to or higher than the closing price, or in case of selling, the specified price is equal to or lower than the closing price) may be matched at the closing price. An at-auction limit order may be matched in price and time priority at the closing price. No at-auction limit order will be matched at a price worse than its specified price.
3. Order type cannot be amended via order modification function. If you want to change the order type (from at-auction limit order to at-auction order, or vice versa), you will need to cancel the original order and input a new order of another order type.
4. For at-auction limit order processed in the Closing Auction Session on any Hong Kong trading day,
   • any new orders may be placed after 4:01 p.m. until market randomly closes in Random Closing Period (4:08 p.m. - 4:10 p.m.); and
   • any order modification or cancellation instructions may be placed during Order Input Period (4:01 p.m. - 4:06 p.m.).

At-auction Order (Closing Auction Session, CAS)

1. An at-auction order (Closing Auction Session) is a market order (without a specified limit price) which you may place with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong for processing during Closing Auction Session (4:00 p.m. to a random closing between 4:08 p.m. and 4:10 p.m.) on any relevant Hong Kong trading day. It usually enjoys a higher auction matching priority than an at-auction limit order and only sell instruction for such order is available at Citibank^®.
2. Any filled at-auction order (in whole or in part) will be executed at the securities’ closing price determined in the Closing Auction Session. It enjoys a higher order matching priority than an at-auction limit order and will be matched in time priority at the closing price in the Closing Auction Session.
3. Order type cannot be amended via order modification function. If you want to change the order type (from at-auction order to at-auction limit order, or vice versa), you will need to cancel the original order and input a new order of another order type.
4. For at-auction order processed in the Closing Auction Session on any Hong Kong trading day,
   • any new orders may be placed after 4:01 p.m. until market randomly closes in Random Closing Period (4:08 p.m. - 4:10 p.m.); and
   • any order modification or cancellation instructions may be placed during Order Input Period (4:01 p.m. - 4:06 p.m.).

Price Limits for Pre-opening Session

A two-stage price limit is applied in the Pre-opening Session

In case there are no buy orders and/or sell orders recorded at the end of Order Input Period at 9:15 a.m., the price limits for No Cancellation Period and Random Matching Period will be same as the price limits in Order Input Period.

Price Limits for Closing Auction Session

A two-stage price limit is applied in the Closing Auction Session

In case only buy orders or only sell orders exist (or both do not exist) at the end of Order Input Period at 4:06 p.m., or the price of the best ask (bid) is higher (lower) than ± 5% from the Reference Price, the price limit for No Cancellation Period and Random Closing Period will be same as the price limits in Order Input Period

How Does Stop Loss Order work?

1. A stop loss order is a normal order that enables you to preset Stop Loss Price and Lowest Selling Price which you may place with the exchange for processing during the relevant trading session on any relevant trading day. For Hong Kong securities trading, the stop loss order is processed during the continuous trading session (9:30 a.m.-12:00noon; 1:00p.m.- 4:00 p.m.) on any relevant Hong Kong trading day. For U.S. securities trading, the stop loss order is processed during the trading hours on any relevant trading day.
2. For Hong Kong securities trading, as the last traded price is used to determine if the Stop Loss Price has been triggered, the opening price of the continuous trading session may be adopted for the earliest triggering of a stop loss order placed on the relevant Hong Kong trading day. For U.S. securities trading, as the last traded price during trading hours is used to determine if the Stop Loss Price has been triggered, the opening price of the relevant trading session may be adopted for the earliest triggering of a stop loss order placed on the relevant trading day.
3. Good-Till-Date (GTD) feature is available for stop loss limit order only and it allows you to select an expiration date (up to 4 trading days) until which such order shall be valid so long as the Stop Loss Price has not been triggered yet. Any un-triggered order will be cancelled at the market close on the expiration date.
4. Stop Loss Price will only be triggered once during the Good-Till-Date period. Once it is triggered, sale instruction at the Lowest Selling Price will be placed with the Exchange until executed in whole in the Good-Till-Date.
5. If you set the lowest selling price, once the order is triggered at the Stop Loss Price on any trading day, the sale instruction will be carried out at or above the Lowest Selling Price in the same way as a normal order except that any unfilled order (in whole or in part) will lapse at the end of the same trading day and will not be carried forward to the following trading day. Therefore, even if the Stop Loss Price has been triggered, the stop loss order may not be executed (in whole or in part).
6. If you do not set the lowest selling price, once the order is triggered at the Stop Loss Price on any trading day, the sale instruction will be carried out in the same way as a market order at the current bid/ask price at the time when the order is triggered.
7. For Hong Kong securities trading, the Stop Loss Price must be at least 1 spread lower than the current bid price when the order is placed during trading hours (or the closing price when the order is placed since the market closes); and the Lowest Selling Price must not be lower than HKD0.01 and 100 spreads below the Stop Loss Price. For U.S. securities trading, the Stop Loss Price must be lower than the current bid price when the order is placed during trading hours (or the closing price when the order is placed since the market closes) and the Lowest Selling Price must not be lower than 95% of the Stop Loss Price.

How to set the Stop Loss Order?

Market Order is an order which customers do not specify the price. A Market Order that is entered into the trading system during the Continuous Trading Session will be executed at the current bid / ask price at the time when the order is processed. Upon customers' confirmation of any Market Order placement, the Bank will submit the buy / sell order to the market by matching it once up to 10 best price queues in the prevailing market and up to a maximum of 10 spreads above / below the nominal price at the time when the order is processed. Any unfilled quantity of the Market Order resulting from completion of the above procedure will be automatically cancelled at once.

For a Market Order to buy shares, additional 10% buying power compared with current market price will be held in order to avoid insufficient funding from settlement account due to volatile market movement. If there is insufficient buying power (including additional 10% buying power) from your account, buy order will not be accepted.

Example 1 (for illustration only):

Customer has placed a Market Order to buy 50,000 shares of a stock.

Assume that the prevailing nominal price of that stock is HK$5.00 with price spread of HK$0.01.

The Bank will calculate the required transaction amount and trading related charges based on the 10 spreads above the nominal price of the stock (i.e. HK$5.10) and the sum will be withheld from the customer's available investment amount. The Bank will submit the order to the market for matching once up to the 10 best price queues at prices equal to or lower than the nominal price plus 10 spreads (i.e. HK$5.10).

Scenario A
The price queues in the market:

Transaction Result: The Market Order is fully executed by buying all 50,000 shares after matching with the 10 best price queues in the prevailing market.

Scenario B
The price queues in the market:

Transaction Result: The Market Order is only partially executed by buying a total of 41,000 shares after matching with the 10 best price queues in the prevailing market. The unfilled quantity of the order (i.e. 9,000 shares) will be automatically cancelled.

Example 2 (for illustration only):

Customer has placed a Market Order to sell 50,000 shares of a stock.

Assume that the prevailing nominal price of that stock is HK$8.00 with price spread of HK$0.01.

The Bank will submit the order to the market for matching once up to the 10 best price queues at prices equal to or higher than the nominal price minus 10 spreads (i.e. HK$7.90).

Scenario A
The price queues in the market:

Transaction Result: The Market Order is fully executed by selling all 50,000 shares after matching with the 10 best price queues in the prevailing market.

Scenario B
The price queues in the market:

Transaction Result: The Market Order is only partially executed by selling a total of 4,000 shares after matching with the 10 best price queues in the prevailing market. The unfilled quantity of the order (i.e. 46,000 shares) will be automatically cancelled.

Enable you to set the order validity period for up to 4 trading days for normal order, at-auction limit order (Pre-opening session) and stop loss order.

Within the good-till-date of a single good-till-date order, all the portion(s) thereof filled on any trading day shall be aggregated as one single order for that trading day for the purpose of calculating the fees and charges based on the normal fees and charges schedule and the executed price on that trading day.

Citibank will not re-send buy/sell orders which are rejected by HKEX because of VCM or during closing auction session to market after end of cooling-off period or next trading day (Including Good-Till-Date Orders).

How to set the Order Validity Date?

Trading within a Fixed Price Band

During the 5-minute cooling-off period, the VCM security can continue trading but will only be allowed to trade within a fixed price band (±10% from the reference price).

Order Handling when VCM is triggered

Order Handling during the Cooling-off Period

Any incoming aggressive orders (i.e. buy order > upper price limit and sell order > lower price limit) outside the fixed price band will be rejected by HKEX immediately.

Citibank will not re-send buy/sell orders which are rejected by HKEX because of VCM or during closing auction session to market after end of cooling-off period or next trading day (Including Good-Till-Date Orders).

You can simply set up a price alert within 2 steps to monitor the market changes!

Track trading movement of significant investments by picking out stocks with large trade turnover.

Compare the performance of stocks and indexes through plotting different charts.

Leverage real-time local and international financial markets news from Dow Jones & Company Inc.

Access average stock purchase prices and keep track of your portfolio's performance.

After log onto www.citibank.com.hk, click "Wealth Management" > "Stock Trading" > "IPO" > "Apply".

Upon confirming the prospectus has been read and understood and completing the application form, click "CONFIRM" and "SUBMIT" to submit your application.

Citibank does not offer intra-day settlement related to inter-counter trading for Dual Counter Securities

The HKIDR will be launched on second half of 2022.

With the implementation of HKIDR, clients are required to give the consent of the disclosure and transfer of their Client Identification Data (CID) or Broker-to-Client Assigned Number (BCAN) to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) before submitting any buy orders of securities.

Below client identification data will be required:

• - Full name as shown on his or her identity document
• - ID Issuing country/region
• - ID Type
• - ID Number

Yes

Not necessary. You are only required to provide your consent on processing of CID once. But please note that unless another joint account holder has also provided the consent on processing of CID, otherwise, you cannot place buy order instructions via this joint securities account.

If the client does not provide the consent, under the HKIDR, his/her Broker-to-Client Assigned Number (BCAN) or Client Identification Data (CID) will not be submitted to SEHK and he/she could only conduct sell orders or trades in respect of existing holdings of a listed security (but not buy orders or trades). Similarly, under OTCR, without the consent provided, his/her CID will not be submitted to the SFC and he/she is allowed the transfers of shares out of and withdrawals of physical share certificates from the account, but not the transfers of shares or deposits of physical share certificates into his/her account.

The consent can be updated via Citibank online banking and Citi mobile app.

Once client submits the consent, it takes around T+1 Hong Kong Stock trading day to complete the BCAN registration.