Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Futu Holdings fourth quarter and full year 2020 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After management's prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer session. Today's conference call is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. I'd now like to turn the conference over to your host for today's conference call, Daniel Yuan, Chief of Staff to CEO and Head of IR at Futu. Please go ahead, sir.
Thanks, operator. Thank you for joining us today to discuss our fourth quarter and full year 2022 earnings results. Joining me on the call today are Mr. Leaf Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Arthur Chen, Chief Financial Officer, and Robin Xu, Senior Vice President. As a reminder, today's call may include forward-looking statements, which represent the company's belief regarding future events, which, by their nature, are not certain and are outside of the company's control. Forward-looking statements involving here risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those containing any forward-looking statements. For more information about the potential risks and uncertainties, please refer to the company's filings with the SEC, including its registration statement. With that, I will now turn the call over to Leaf.
Li will make his comments in Chinese. I will translate. Thank you all for joining our earnings call today. In the fourth quarter, we added over 42,000 paying clients, down 27% sequentially. Stock market plummet in the first half of the quarter. The uncertainties around the sustainability of market rebound in the second half affected user sentiment, which led to the deceleration of client acquisition. Our total paying clients reached around 1.5 million, representing 20% growth year-over-year. In 2022, we managed to add over 240,000 paying clients, exceeding our full year guidance by 20%. Despite a challenging market backdrop, our average quarterly client retention rate in 2022 remained above 98%, which speaks to the stickiness of our product.
In Hong Kong, we continue to promote our product among the population aged over 35 through offline workshops and campaigns, as well as targeted online ads. In the past quarter, people over 35 contributed over 50% of our new paying clients in Hong Kong. We'll further roll out offline events and refine product offerings to reach and serve this population. In the U.S. market, we saw an improvement in client quality as the first month's average net asset inflow of new paying clients increased by approximately 40% sequentially. Client acquisition in Singapore remained resilient in the fourth quarter, mainly attributable to continued client interest in money market and fixed income fund products. Total client assets increased by 2% year-over-year and 13% quarter-over-quarter to HKD 417 billion.
The sequential increase was largely due to market appreciation of our clients' Hong Kong stock holdings and robust net asset inflow across all regions. As of quarter end, margin financing and securities lending balance declined by 10% sequentially. While we saw an uptick in securities lending balance amid market volatility, margin financing balance declined as clients unwound some of their positions during Hong Kong market rebound.
总 交 易 量 为 一 点 一 万 亿 港 币 ， 环 比 基 本 持 平 ， 其 中 港 股 交 易 量 占 比 为 百 分 之 三 十 六 。 第 四 季 度 港 股 交 易 量 环 比 增 长 百 分 之 三 十 一 ， 达 到 三 千 九 百 七 十 亿 港 元 。 增 长 得 益 于 中 国 新 经 济 公 司 和 杠 杆 ETF 交 易 量 的 增 加 ， 客 户 利 用 后 者 对 市 场 趋 势 进 行 短 期 押 注 。 我 们 在 香 港 期 货 和 期 权 交 易 市 场 中 的 份 额 攀 升 至 历 史 高 点 ， 分 别 达 到 百 分 之 八 和 百 分 之 十 五 。 四 季 度 ， 美 国 科 技 股 遭 遇 市 场 抛 售 ， 导 致 我 们 美 股 交 易 量 环 比 下 降 百 分 之 十 ， 约 为 六 千 七 百 五 十 亿 港 元 。
Total trading volume was flattish quarter-over-quarter at HKD 1.1 trillion, of which Hong Kong stock trading constituted 36%. In the fourth quarter, Hong Kong stock trading volume increased by 31% sequentially to HKD 397 billion. The increase can be attributed to higher trading volume of China new economy companies and leveraged and inverse ETF, which clients used as tactical tools to make short-term bets on market trends. Our market shares in Hong Kong Futures and Options trading further climbed to the historic highs of 8% and 15% respectively. U.S. stock trading volume was HKD 675 billion, down 10% sequentially amid market sell-off of many U.S. technology names.
财 富 管 理 的 客 户 资 产 同 比 增 长 百 分 之 六 十 八 ， 环 比 增 长 百 分 之 二 十 二 ， 达 到 三 百 二 十 亿 港 币 。 在 加 息 背 景 下 ， 货 币 基 金 持 续 受 到 客 户 青 睐 。 在 新 加 坡 ， 我 们 推 出 了 商 品 基 金 和 另 类 基 金 。 在 香 港 ， 我 们 继 续 为 高 净 值 客 户 提 供 更 多 股 票 和 指 数 挂 钩 结 构 性 产 品 ， 以 满 足 客 户 在 市 场 动 荡 背 景 下 不 同 的 风 险 收 益 目 标 。 第 四 季 度 ， 我 们 还 成 为 了 贝 莱 德 中 国 科 技 创 新 基 金 在 香 港 的 首 发 零 售 分 销 平 台 ， 提 升 了 富 途 大 象 品 牌 -- 提 升 了 富 途 大 象 财 富 的 品 牌 认 知 度 。
Total client assets involved management through 68% year-over-year and 22% quarter-over-quarter to HKD 32 billion, mainly driven by sustained interest in money market funds amid interest rate hikes. We onboarded commodity funds and alternative funds in Singapore. In Hong Kong, we expanded equity and index-linked structured product offerings for high net worth clients to meet their different risk return objectives during market turmoil. In the fourth quarter, we also became the first retail platform in Hong Kong to distribute the BGF China Innovation Fund of BlackRock, thereby enhancing the brand awareness of Futu Money Plus.
截 止 四 季 度 ， 我 们 的 企 业 服 务 有 三 百 三 十 三 家 IPO 分 销 和 IR 客 户 ， 以 及 六 百 三 十 八 家 ESOP 客 户 ， 同 比 分 别 增 长 了 百 分 之 四 十 一 和 百 分 之 六 十 。 在 第 四 季 度 ， 我 们 作 为 联 席 账 簿 管 理 人 ， 参 与 了 多 宗 大 型 香 港 IPO， 其 中 包 括 三 六 零 数 科 和 卫 龙 。 二 零 二 二 年 ， 我 们 累 计 承 销 了 四 十 一 宗 港 股 IPO。 据 万 得 统 计 ， 我 们 的 港 股 IPO 承 销 数 量 位 居 行 业 首 位 。 在 二 零 二 二 年 港 股 上 市 的 公 司 中 ， 有 二 十 八 家 在 年 底 的 市 值 超 过 百 亿 港 币 ， 其 中 有 二 十 三 家 使 用 了 我 们 的 企 业 服 务 产 品 。 在 第 四 季 度 ， 我 们 在 新 加 坡 推 出 了 moomoo ESOP， 为 新 加 坡 企 业 客 户 提 供 ESOP 解 决 方 案 。
Our enterprise business has 333 IPO distribution in IR clients as well as 638 ESOP clients, up 41% and 60% year-over-year respectively. We acted as joint bookrunners for several high-profile Hong Kong IPOs, including those of 360 DigiTech and Weilong Delicious. We underwrote 41 Hong Kong IPOs in 2022 and ranked first among all brokers according to Wind. Of all 28 companies listed in 2022 with market cap over HKD 10 billion by the end of the year, 23 companies have used one or more of our enterprise product offerings. In the fourth quarter, we also launched moomoo ESOP in Singapore to provide corporate clients with ESOP solution services.
接 下 来 有 请 我 们 的 Chief Financial Officer Arthur 介 绍 我 们 的 财 务 表 现.
Next, I'd like to invite our CFO, Arthur, to discuss our financial performance.
Thank you, Li and Daniel. Before going through our financial performance, I'd like to give you an update on our latest share repurchase program announced on March 11th, 2022. At the end of last year, we have repurchased an aggregate of 8 million ADS with approximately $250 million total repurchase amount in the open market transaction. This constitutes about 50% of the maximum purchase amount of $500 million approved under our share repurchase program. Please allow me to walk you through our financial performance in the fourth quarter. All numbers are in Hong Kong dollars unless otherwise noted. Total revenue was HKD 2.3 billion, up 42% from HKD 1.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. Despite market volatility, we ended 2022 with full year revenue growing 7% to HKD 7.6 billion.
Brokerage commission and handling charge income was $1 billion, increase of 22% year-over-year and 10% Q-over-Q. The increase was mainly driven by a higher blended commission rate of 9.6 basis point. The commission per share pricing model for U.S. stock trading led to a further hike in blended commission rate, a stock price drop and the number of the shares trade increased. Interest income was $1.1 billion, an increase of 84% year-over-year and 29% Q-over-Q. The increase was mainly driven by higher interest income from cash deposit due to higher benchmark interest rate, which more than offset by the lower margin financing income due to lower daily average margin financing balance. Other income was $94 million, down.
$142 million, an increase of 58% from $217 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Brokerage commission and the handling charge expenses was $64 million, down 27% year-over-year and the 23% Q-over-Q. Expenses didn't move in line with our brokerage commission and handling charge income, mainly due to cost saving from our U.S. self-clearing business. Interest income was $182 million, up 227% year-over-year and 307% Q-over-Q. The year-over-year and the Q-over-Q increase was mainly driven by higher interest expenses associated with our security lending business. Processing and servicing costs were $96 million, up 31% year-over-year and 6% Q-over-Q.
The year-over-year increase was due to higher data transmission fee and the system upgrade fees. As a result, our total gross profit was HKD 1.9 billion, an increase of 40% from HKD 1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. Gross margin was 85% as compared to 86% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Operating expenses were down 1% year-over-year and up 7% Q-over-Q to HKD 818 million. To break it down, R&D expenses were HKD 334 million, up 24% year-over-year and 7% Q-over-Q. The year-over-year increase was mainly due to increasing R&D headcounts. We continue to support new product offering, investing in the U.S. self-clearing capabilities and the customized products for international markets.
Looking into 2023, we intend to further grow our headcount by middle to high teen on top of our 2,800 employees at the end of last year to support expansion into new international markets. Selling and the marketing expenses was $153 million, down 55% year-over-year and 35% Q-over-Q. Expenses declined due to slower client acquisition amid weak market sentiment and the lower client acquisition costs. General expenses were $330 million, up 52% year-over-year and the 56% Q-over-Q. The rise was primarily due to increasing headcount for general administrative personnel and to a less extent, an increase in professional fees relating to our proposed Hong Kong IPO listing.
As a result, our net income increased by 92% year-over-year and 27% Q-over-Q to $959 million. Net income margin expanded to 42% in the fourth quarter as compared to 31% in the same quarter last year, mainly due to lower marketing spending. Our effective tax rate for the quarter was 14.7% due to higher tax rate from our U.S. operations. That conclude our prepared remarks. We'd now like to open the call to questions. Operator, please go ahead.
Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Once again, that's star one one for questions. Our first question comes from the line of Han Pu from CICC. Please ask your question, Han.
This is Han from CICC. Thanks very much for taking my question and congrats on another strong quarter. I have two questions. Firstly, how about the latest progress in the new markets such as Australia and Japan? For example, the user profile and the product and service offering. Secondly, we see the continuous rapid growth in the wealth management business. Could you please share more color on the driver behind the product structure and our forward plan? Besides, how about the revenue contribution in the fourth quarter of the wealth management business, and also the user penetration to our brokerage business? Thanks.
同 时 通 过 组 织 线 上 和 线 下 交 流 ， 加 深 了 团 队 与 客 户 的 连 接 ， 从 而 也 去 提 升 了 客 户 这 里 的 一 个 产 品 体 验 。 我 们 在 澳 洲 四 季 度 的 获 客 成 本 是 能 够 看 到 ， 因 此 有 一 个 非 常 显 著 的 下 降 。 未 来 我 们 在 澳 洲 还 是 会 持 续 去 提 升 我 们 的 产 品 能 力 和 精 准 获 客 的 能 力 ， 也 会 不 断 去 迭 代 我 们 的 营 销 策 略 。 谢 谢 。
In Q4 we can various client acquisition channels in the Australian market, reduce the budget for inefficient client acquisition channels and constantly optimize the account opening funnel. By deepening connection with clients via online and offline exchanges, we also improved clients product experience. As a result, the client acquisition cost in Q4 in Australia fell substantially on a Q-over-Q basis. In the future, we'll continue to improve our product capabilities and the ability to efficiently acquire clients as well as upgrade our marketing strategies. Thank you.
那 我 来 继 续 回 答 刚 刚 提 问 的 第 二 个 关 于 财 富 管 理 方 面 的 问 题 。 那 财 富 管 理 在 四 季 度 依 然 延 续 了 强 劲 的 增 长 势 头 ， 主 要 是 得 益 于 加 息 周 期 下 低 风 险 基 金 产 品 对 客 户 持 续 的 吸 引 力 。 同 时 我 们 也 在 不 断 地 扩 充 基 金 品 类 ， 以 满 足 对 不 同 风 险 偏 好 的 客 户 群 体 的 投 资 理 财 需 求 。 那 结 合 4Q 的 数 据 来 看 ， 财 富 管 理 业 务 是 吸 引 客 户 和 获 取 资 产 的 有 力 抓 手 。 那 具 体 来 说 的 话 ，Q4 财 富 管 理 资 产 规 模 的 增 长 几 乎 全 部 来 自 于 客 户 的 增 量 资 金 。 另 外 就 是 基 金 带 来 的 新 增 有 资 产 客 户 占 比 也 在 逐 步 地 提 高 ， 尤 其 是 在 新 加 坡 市 场 。 那 展 望 未 来 ， 我 们 ， 我 们 觉 得 ， 呃 ， 财 富 管 理 业 务 依 然 是 有 很 大 的 一 个 成 长 空 间 。 我 们 计 划 在 香 港 持 续 丰 富 我 们 的 结 构 ， 结 构 化 产 品 种 类 ， 那 上 半 年 实 现 支 持 包 括 固 定 配 息 、 结 构 性 产 品 、 基 金 挂 钩 票 据 等 在 内 的 五 种 票 据 类 型 ， 更 好 地 满 足 专 业 投 资 者 和 高 净 值 客 群 的 资 产 配 置 需 求 。 那 在 新 加 坡 ， 我 们 的 公 募 产 品 矩 阵 已 经 相 对 完 善 ， 未 来 将 聚 焦 于 低 风 险 基 金 组 合 和 派 息 基 金 组 合 的 上 新 ， 并 逐 步 扩 充 其 他 产 品 种 类 ， 包 括 债 券 、 私 募 基 金 和 结 构 化 产 品 等 。 谢 谢 。
Wealth management business maintain strong growth momentum in the fourth quarter, mainly because low risk fund products remain attractive to our clients during the rate hike cycle. Meanwhile, we have been broadening fund offerings to meet the investment and financial needs of customers with different risk appetites. In Q4, wealth management business helped attract lots of clients and assets. Specifically, the growth in wealth management AUM in Q4 is almost entirely driven by new asset inflows, and the percentage of our new paying clients brought by fund products has also been growing. That's especially true in the Singapore market. Looking ahead, we see a lot of room for growth in wealth management business. We plan to continuously diversify structured products in Hong Kong, with an aim to provide five types of notes, including fixed dividend structure products and fund linked notes in the first half of this year to better meet the asset allocation needs of our professional investors and high net worth clients. In Singapore, we have comprehensive mutual fund product offerings, and we'll focus on introducing more low risk fund portfolios and dividend paying fund portfolios while gradually expanding other product categories including bonds, private equity funds, structure notes, etc. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Chi Yao Huang from Morgan Stanley. Please ask your question, Chi Yao.
嗨，管理层感谢给我这个提问的机会。我有2个问题，第一个是关于我们看到4Q这个brokerage commission rate还是环比有一个比较明显的一个提高，想请问这里面主要的驱动因素，以及在4Q咱们在Hong Kong的derivative products的收入贡献大概占到整个brokerage收入的一个大概什么比例？展望2023，我们觉得大概一个什么样水平的这个brokerage commission rate是一个相对来说比较可持续的一个水平，或者说一个正常的水平。第二个问题是关于这个利息收入，我们看到在4Q这个利息收入其实也是有一个比较大幅度的一个增长，想请管理层大概介绍一下咱们对这个客户闲置资金利用的一个大概的一个规划，咱们大概能够用到多大比例的客户闲置资金，继续用来的一些，做的一些投资结构等等。也是展望2023，咱们对这个客户闲置资金比例的一些运用，或者规模，或者是这个比例大概有什么样的预期？My first question is on the driver for a higher brokerage commission rate in fourth quarter and roughly what's the contribution from the derivative products and how is the management's outlook on the brokerage commission rating to 2023?
My second question is on the interest income, which we are seeing a rapid growth in the fourth quarter. Basically, wondering, how's our, you know, plan to utilize the client idle cash and what we invest and what's the percentage and scale of client idle cash that we plan to utilize in 2023? Thank you.
Thank you. I will take these two questions. Number one, in terms of the commission rate, I think the hike was mainly driven by, you know, our, you know, typical reasons, because the market was quite volatile in fourth quarter. The U.S. stock markets, you know, make a meaningful corrections, which implies our, you know,
Pricing model—effective pricing model become much higher. The other reason is, as you mentioned, you know, these derivative tradings continue to increase in the fourth quarter, given the market volatility, which also, you know, has a positive benefit on our blended commission rate. In terms of the contribution in fourth quarter, derivatives commissions roughly account for one-third of our total commission, maintaining a relatively high level in our history. But, you know, as I mentioned in last earnings call, we do not set any, you know, specific targets for our derivative products. Instead, what we focus will be more on the investment education side, and also further enhance our products itself.
For instance, this year we'll gradually roll out our U.S. option portfolio order functions to attract more of these professional derivative traders. We are not inclined to, you know, push or hard sell these derivative products to these clients with, you know, low risk appetite. The second question regarding the interest income, it is very difficult to quantify how much idle cash we can utilize, but depends on the market volatility. I can give you some, you know, general range. Say, you know, in our history, the idle cash percentage-wise accounts for roughly, you know, 20%-10% of our total client assets, depend different markets, depend different market conditions.
For instance, in the fourth quarter or even in the whole last year, because the market was very, not very good, actually, you know, our clients' idle cash position percentage-wise, it was relatively higher. I think, you know, looking forward this year, the interest income will continue to grow on a year-over-year basis, mainly benefiting from the high interest rate environment. For the deployment usage, actually, you know, we do not have a lot of choice. The reason is according to the, you know, SFC regulations, we can only put clients' idle cash into the bank deposits to the commercial banks with the duration less than six months. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Cindy Wang from China Renaissance. Please ask your question, Cindy.
Hi. Speaks in foreign language. Thanks management for giving me this chance to ask question. I have two questions. First question is related to the U.S. market. In fourth quarter, the average net asset inflow of new paying clients for their first month of onboarding to increase by 40% quarter-over-quarter. What's the U.S. client acquisition strategy in fourth quarter to help the new asset inflow increase? Do you have any expectation in terms of the net asset inflow and the number of new paying client contribution in U.S. in 2023? The second question is related to customer acquisition cost. From fourth quarter, the CAC was actually down 11% quarter-over-quarter.
Can management give us the reasoning behind it, and if this trend will be sustained in 1st quarter of 2023, and how do you see the full year? Thank you.
Thank you. I will take your second question first, I leave the first question to Lee to answer. For the CAC in the fourth quarter, actually we further optimize our channel distributions in Hong Kong and also in overseas markets. You know, we adjust certain, you know, incentives to our clients on a dynamic basis. Not only just focus on the speed of our client, but also more importantly, on the quality of our clients. Going forward, I think, you know, it is still very difficult to predict, you know, 2023 situations. I think our base case will be the CAC largely will be, you know, the same as 2022.
Speaks in foreign language.
在 Q4 新 增 的 美 国 有 资 产 客 户 的 首 月 户 均 净 入 金 环 比 有 40% 左 右 的 提 升 ， 主 要 是 因 为 我 们 侧 重 于 客 户 资 产 的 获 取 ， 并 且 调 整 了 奖 励 门 槛 。 在 今 年 的 Q1 ， 我 们 已 经 在 美 国 支 持 了 美 股 期 权 组 合 下 单 功 能 ， 那 么 计 划 在 今 年 进 一 步 去 完 善 指 数 、 期 权 等 高 阶 衍 生 产 品 和 相 应 的 功 能 。 未 来 我 们 还 会 在 美 国 持 续 去 深 耕 产 品 力 ， 以 美 国 正 股 和 美 股 衍 生 品 为 核 心 ， 去 逐 步 完 善 相 关 的 产 品 品 类 ， 提 升 在 当 地 的 市 场 竞 争 力 。 同 时 会 控 制 单 客 的 获 客 成 本 ， 持 续 关 注 客 户 质 量 的 进 一 步 的 提 升 。
Client acquisition in the US in Q4 slowed down on a sequential basis. On one hand, market sentiment remained weak, which affect the clients' willingness to enter the market. On the other hand, we deliberately slowed down client acquisition to focus on improving client quality. As mentioned, the first month average net asset inflow from our new paying clients in the US increased by around 40%, mainly because we focused on attracting client assets and adjusted the reward threshold. In the first quarter this year, we already launched multi-leg options for US stocks, and we plan to add and improve advanced derivative products and functions, such as index options this year.
Going forward, we'll continue to enhance our product capabilities and gradually improve our product portfolio centered on U.S. stocks and U.S. derivatives to enhance our competitiveness in the local market, while also controlling client acquisition cost and focusing on improving client quality. Regarding the guidance, we now have no guidance for the U.S. clients or asset inflow growth in 2023. Thank you.
Here. Our next question comes from Frank Zheng from Credit Suisse. Please ask your question, Frank.
哎 ， 感 谢 管 理 层 给 我 提 问 的 机 会 ， 我 是 瑞 士 信 贷 的 郑 豪 。 呃 ， 我 有 两 个 问 题 ， 第 一 个 问 题 是 关 于 新 市 场 进 入 的 ， 那 最 近 最 新 的 一 些 进 展 和 时 间 表 有 什 么 更 新 ？ 另 外 ， 公 司 在 日 本 的 服 务 是 否 已 经 上 线 ？ 那 第 二 个 问 题 还 是 跟 之 前 的 利 率 是 相 关 的 ， 我 们 也 看 到 四 季 度 的 利 息 支 出 有 比 较 大 的 上 升 。 呃 ， 那 我 想 请 教 一 下 ， 在 市 场 利 率 上 行 的 时 候 ， 通 常 来 讲 两 种 业 务 的 息 差 是 否 会 受 到 影 响 ？ 因 为 考 虑 到 收 入 端 的 呃 ， 费 率 是 比 较 固 定 的 ， 而 介 入 基 金 的 成 本 可 能 有 所 上 升 。 啊 ， 那 我 来 翻 译 一 下 。This is Frank Zheng from Credit Suisse.
I have two questions. The first one is on new market entries. What is the latest progress and the timetable? Is the services in Japan already online? The second question is related to interest rate. Fourth quarter interest expense surged quarter-on-quarter, and we would like to understand, in general, when interest rate is in a upcycle, would the interest rate spread of margin financing and securities lending business be affected? Considering that the fee and income is relatively fixed, but the fee expenses could elevate. 谢 谢 。
Thank you very much, Frank. I will take both of your questions. Number one, in terms of the new market expansion, I think, yeah, you are right. We do have some new markets in our pipelines. In the base case, we are looking forward to expand two new markets. Both are in Asia this year. I think, you know, in terms of total addressable market for these two potential markets will be very meaningful. But, in terms of the exact timeline, it is still very difficult to predict nowadays, given, you know, we still waiting for the regulators' confirmations for our license approval. Hopefully, we will give you some update more, more colors in the coming quarters. Second, regarding interest expenses.
I think in theoretically speakings, the spread will be narrowed a little bit given that, you know, our pricing strategy on the margin financing is, you know, fixed rate. On the funding cost side, it will be impact from the, you know, high interest rate environment. Thanks to our U.S. self-clearing capabilities and also our very strong balance sheet, if you look at our total equity base, you can see, you know, actually a lot of margin financing, the funding source came from our own money. Therefore, I think, you know, the pressures from the funding costs is still manageable in 2023. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from Leon Qi from Daiwa. Please ask your question, Leon.
好 的 ， 非 常 感 谢 给 我 这 个 提 问 的 机 会 ， 我 是 Daiwa 的 Leon Qi 。 有 2 个 问 题 想 请 教 一 下 管 理 层 。 第 1 个 呢 ， 关 于 我 们 香 港 这 边 。 近 期 我 们 注 意 到 呢 ， 可 能 香 港 这 边 好 像 ， 我 们 越 来 越 多 地 开 展 了 一 些 线 下 的 服 务 ， 或 者 说 是 活 动 。 这 个 想 请 管 理 层 在 战 略 上 给 我 们 讲 解 一 下 ， 我 们 应 该 怎 么 理 解 。 我 们 用 越 来 越 多 的 线 下 去 拓 展 我 们 的 产 品 和 服 务 ， 这 个 是 不 是 对 于 我 们 整 个 客 户 资 产 的 提 升 ， 会 有 比 较 大 的 帮 助 ， 帮 助 我 们 来 获 取 1 个 客 户 更 大 的 钱 包 份 额 。 第 2 个 就 是 ， 想 请 管 理 层 能 不 能 给 我 们 更 新 一 下 我 们 港 股 上 市 的 1 个 最 新 的 情 况 ， 或 者 说 是 我 们 的 计 划 。 好 ， 就 这 2 个 问 题 。 好 ， 我 翻 译 一 下 。Hi, this is Leon Qi from Daiwa.
Thanks for taking my questions. Two questions today. Firstly is regarding Hong Kong business. We noticed that recently Futu has been carrying out more and more offline services. Appreciate if your management can give us any color on how should we think about our offline business strategy in Hong Kong. Does it help us in terms of increasing the customer wallet share in AUM? Second question is regarding your latest plans for Hong Kong listing. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Leon. I will take your second question first, and I will leave the first question to Lee to answer. There's no any confirmed timelines or, you know, for our, you know, Hong Kong IPO listing nowadays. I think the top priority for the management this year is to fully cooperate and collaborate with the mainland regulators to complete our inspection as soon as possible. This is our top priority, and we will further assess the feasibilities of our Hong Kong IPO listing later, depending on the market conditions and also depending our use of proceeds. Thank you.
In Hong Kong, Futu has higher penetration rate among the younger generations than the middle-aged groups, and we hope to better serve the middle-aged groups of clients. Compared with the younger generations on our platform, we see that the middle-aged groups are generally less tech-savvy and have longer conversion cycles. As such, we carried out offline account opening services in Hong Kong as face-to-face communication can shorten the conversion cycle of these clients. We also plan to reach potential clients through multiple touchpoints, including offline campaigns, cooperation with KOL, et cetera, so as to improve the quantity and the quality of the clients acquired. Thank you.
Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone. Our next question comes from the line of Katherine Lei from J.P. Morgan. Please ask your question, Katherine.
sorry, this is Peter asking question on behalf of Katherine. Let me do the translation. We understood that there is a CSRC announcement on tightening of the offshore brokers. We wish to understand what's the impact on Futu's business operation. In particular, does Futu see any current AUM outflow following the CSRC announcement last December? Thank you.
Thank you, Peter. Let me answer your question. First of all, give you some, you know, general colors about our clients', you know, clients' movement, following the end of last year's news flow. We do witness some, you know, our Hong Kong clients because of the sentiment concerns. There are some client outflows in, particularly in the first half of January. I think the overall amount is quite manageable. Roughly I think, you know, the net outflow at the time accounts for roughly 1%-2% of our total client assets, which compare with the situation we faced at the end of 2021, we think the situation was manageable.
The net outflow condition situation gradually reversed starting from February. Nowadays, we record, you know, daily net asset inflows. Secondly, regarding the CSRC's, you know, CSRC's news at the end of last year, I think, you know, we fully accept the regulators' point of view. We, you know, we have a full corporations, you know, with the regulators. On a net-to-net basis, we do think it will be healthy for the industry's long-term growth. Also, if you follow the news, there are some clarities from the CSRC's spokespersons in the middle of February, mentioning how to, you know, deal with the existing clients.
They ask for orderly, you know, deal with the existing clients. It will be an industry-wide situations. We will take a very constructive manners, to cooperate with the regulators in this regard. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Once again, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone. All right. I'm showing no further questions. Thank you very much for all your questions. I'll now turn the conference back to Daniel for closing remarks.
Thank you, operator. That concludes our call today. On behalf of the Futu management team, I would like to thank you for joining us today. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or any of our investor relations representative. Thank you and goodbye.
Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.