Customer Service FAQs Trading

FAQs
FAQs

FAQs

How to use and FAQs

If your question is not answered here, please feel free to contact our Customer Service Hotline at (852) 2255 8888 or email us.

Trading

    Markets
  1. Through BOOM, you could trade over 50,000 exchange-listed securities of 17 countries, including Hong Kong, China, Japan, US, Canada, United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan.
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    Fees and Charges
  1. Commission is charged on a per order basis. And different commission rates and pass-on charges apply to different stock market.
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    Placing Instruction
    General Questions
  1. You could do so by clicking:
    Login to you BOOM account, then go to "Search for Stocks" > "Stock Codes" > "Symbol Lookup".
  2. As a BOOM trading member, you could submit your orders anytime regardless of trading hours of the stock markets. The orders submitted will be stored and submitted for trading once the markets open.

    Click here to view the trading hours of different stock markets.
  3. Yes, you can buy stocks and then sell them immediately in most of the markets we offer.

    Due to the market regulations in Taiwan, Shanghai and Shenzhen, you can only sell the stocks on the next day after you bought them.

    Figure A: All clients can buy stocks and then sell them on the same day (except for Taiwan, Shanghai and Shenzhen markets).

  4. The Total Fund Available in your portfolio page will be updated with the estimated proceeds of your sell shares immediately after execution.

    Your "Fund Movement History" will reflect the actual proceeds of your sell shares a few hours after the market closed.
  5. In general, you can use the sale proceeds to buy stocks immediately after you sold them.

    However, U.S. market does not allow Cash Account holders to use the sale proceeds to buy U.S. stocks until T+1.
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    6. Pending Orders
  6. Once you have sent an instruction, you can always view the "Pending Order / Intraday Executions" page of the Trading & Status section to see the status of your instruction.
  7. To change or cancel your trading instruction, simply use the "Change" or "Cancel" function display next to the trading order found in the "Pending Orders" Section, then click "Confirm". Please note that only those remaining shares which have not been filled can be changed or cancelled.

    Transactions may have been executed rapidly during trading hours, therefore your change or cancellation instructions are NOT guaranteed.

    For US market, only the limit price and / or quantity can be amended while the Good Till Date cannot be changed after set. Please note that changing the limit price and / or quantity for a partially filled order will be treated as a new order and charged accordingly.

    For Sell Stop-Limit Order, amendment is not allowed. If you want to modify a Sell Stop-Limit Order, you must cancel it first and then setup another order.
  8. Any order(s) pending at the end of the Good Till Date will be cancelled by the system. This includes those orders, which have been partially filled by that time. The respective buying power will be credited back to your cash balance upon cancellation of pending buy orders. Unsold stocks will be reinstated to your portfolio upon cancellation of pending sell orders.
    Margin Trading
  1. Yes, we do provide margin trading services. All stocks listed in Hong Kong, US, Japan, Singapore and Australia are eligible for margin financing. Please click here for details.
    Trading Channels
  1. No. Simply login to your BOOM account, you can place all the instructions over the Internet browser. You do not need to download any software before you start trading online.
  2. Yes, we do. We do accept telephone orders. Simply call our 24-hours Customer Service Hotline at (852) 2255 8888 or BOOM Dealing Hotline at (852) 2255 8366.
  3. Other than the Internet, you could also place orders by phone calls or in person.
    Account Notifications and Statements
    Account Notifications
  1. You will receive the following email notifications:
    1. Instant trade confirmation - you will get a confirmation email right after your order is filled / executed.
    2. Corporate action entitlement notices - including cash / script dividend, bonus share, rights issue, stock consolidation / conversion / subdivision, warrant expiry, etc.
    3. IPO allotment results - you will be notified of the allotment result once it is announced by the issuer.
  2. BOOM sends account notifications to you by email. If your email address is invalid, you will not be able to receive any of the important notices. In addition, you will need to pay the handling fee of HKD 10 for receiving Monthly Activity Statements by post.
    3. Trade Confirmations
  3. You will receive a trade confirmation by email for each trade execution. In addition, we will send you a Daily Activity Statement (also serves as contract note) on the following business day with a summary of your trading activities of the day.
  4. Being environmental friendly, we issue Daily Activity Statement as a replacement for individual contract note. All your trading activities in a particular day will be stated in the Daily Activity Statement. It will be sent to you on the next business day after trade execution.

    The details of your executed orders, including the executed price, quantity and the breakdown of pass-on charges, will be showed under the "Today Activity" section in the Daily Activity Statement.
    5. Account Statements
  5. You will receive Daily Activity Statement, which includes all the executed trades / contracts for a trading day. You will also receive Monthly Activity Statement for your BOOM Account.
  6. Daily Activity Statements will be generated whenever there are account activities. However, we will only send you Daily Activity Statement after you have a buy/sell order executed. Therefore, if you only have non-trading activities (such as funds deposit / withdrawal) on a particular day, you will not receive any Daily Activity Statement or notice, but the respective statement can be viewed online under the "Statement (Daily / Monthly)" section after you login to your account.
  7. Monthly Activity Statements are generated every month. However, you will not have Monthly Activity Statement if there are no account activity, no stock holding and no cash balance for that month.
  8. Online: Free of charge
    You can retrieve all Daily Activity Statements and Monthly Activity Statements within 36 calendar months. To view statement, please login and click "Funds & Account" > "Statement (Daily / Monthly)" section.

    By post (within 36 calendar months): HK$ 10 per statement
    If you request to receive paper Monthly Activity Statement by post, you will need to pay the handling fee of HKD 10 per statement.

    By post (beyond 36 calendar months): HK$ 100 per statement
    If you request statement(s) issued beyond 36 calendar months, a handling fee of HKD 100 per statement will be charged. You are advised to print out or download the statement online if you wish to keep a copy for your records.
  9. No. BOOM only provides Daily Activity Statements and Monthly Activity Statements. We do not provide yearly statements that are specially designed for tax reporting purpose.

    To fulfill your tax reporting needs, you are highly recommended to download or print out Monthly Activity Statements from your BOOM Account periodically for record keeping.

    Kindly note that statements within 36 months are available to retrieve online for free, and there will be a handling fee of HKD 100 to charge for retrieving each statement beyond 36 months.
    10. e-Statements
  10. In addition to the support of environment protection and reduction of paper consumption, e-statements bring you the advantages of:

    Speed You will be informed by email when a new statement is available.
    Timely No delay due to postage. You can review your new statement once it is issued.
    Printer-friendly Easy to print if needed. Layout and content are exactly the same as that of paper version.
    Flexible Unlimited access to all statements within 36 months.
    Cost-free FREE email notifications and online access to electronic statements.
  11. You can view the electronic version of the statements by following steps below:
    1. Login to your BOOM account;
    2. Go to the "Funds & Account" > "Statement (Daily / Monthly)" section;
    3. To view the latest Monthly Activity Statement, simply click the button "View Monthly Statement";
    4. To view specific Daily Activity Statement, simply click the date that is in blue color on the calendar. If the date is in black, then you have no account activities on that day and no daily statement is generated.
  12. Yes. The layout and contents of e-Statements are exactly the same as the printed version sent by post.
  13. e-Statements are in PDF format. You are required to install Adobe Reader on your computer to view the e-Statements.

    To download the Adobe Reader, please login to BOOM and go to the "Statement (Daily / Monthly)" section. Then click on the "Adobe Reader" link and follow the steps for installation.
  14. You could simply click the "Save" icon on the Adobe Reader to download and save the e-Statements in your own computer.
    15. Delivery of Statements
  15. Base on your Statement Delivery Settings, we will send the statements to you by email or by post.

    By email: We will send you an email notification when new statement is available. Then you can view and download the statements online.
    By post: You may choose to receive printed copies of statements by post. Please note that a handling fee of HKD 10 per statement will be charged to your BOOM account if you request Monthly Activity Statement in paper form.
  16. To change the preference of statements delivery, please follow the steps below:
    1. Login to your BOOM account;
    2. Go to the "Funds & Account" > "Statement Delivery Settings" section;
    3. Under "Delivery of Statements", select "Notify by Email" or "Send by Post" for Daily Activity Statements and Monthly Activity Statements;
    4. Press [Submit Change].

    The changes made will be effective from the next statement.
  17. For security reason, we will not send statement to clients by email. Instead, we will notify you by email when your statement is available for viewing online via your BOOM Account.
  18. If email sent to your email address is returned to BOOM as undeliverable, we will not send out any further email notifications. Instead, we will send you paper statements by post. Please note that a handling fee of HKD 10 per statement will be charged to your BOOM account for receiving paper Monthly Activity Statement by post.

    In general, the email is undeliverable because:
    1. Your e-mail address is invalid.
    2. Your e-mail box is full.
    3. There are problems with your e-mail service providers such as network delay or system failure.
  19. We will mail the paper version of statements to you upon your request or when your email address is invalid. If your correspondence address in BOOM's record is invalid, you will not be able to receive the statements. In addition, your statements might be exposed to a third party at that wrong address.
    20. Points to Note on Account Notifications and Statements
    1. Handling Fee of Printed Statements:
      1. Handling fee will be applied for receiving paper version of Monthly Activity Statements by post.
      2. Handling fee will be charged to your BOOM account after the respective Statement is printed.
      3. Handing fee charged is not refundable.
      4. BOOM reserves the right to amend the handling fee associated with printed Statements from time to time at our absolute discretion at any time without your prior consent.
    2. No Guarantee Delivery:
      1. BOOM shall not be responsible for any delay or failure in transmission, receipt of information due to either a breakdown or failure of transmission of communication facilities, or any unreliable medium of communication or any other cause or causes beyond our control or anticipation.
      2. No refund of charged handling fee if printed Statements are not delivered to you by post (including but not limited to the occasion that mails are bounced due to invalid correspondence address).
    3. Maintain Up-to-date Contact Details:
      1. You are obligated to maintain valid and reachable email and correspondence address with BOOM for receiving the Notifications and Statements. If you change your email or correspondence address, you must inform BOOM with a signed instruction.

    BOOM reserves the right to change the above terms and conditions from time to time. In case of disputes, BOOM reserves the right of final decision.

    If there is inconsistency between the English and Chinese version of the above terms and conditions, the English version shall prevail.
    U.S. Trade
    General Questions
  1. Once BOOM receives your US order, our system will immediately send it to our US agent for execution.

    Depends on the listed exchange of the stock, the size and availability of the order, your US stock orders might be filled on a stock exchange (including NYSE, NYSE Arca, NYSE MKT and NASDAQ), on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) or the Pink Sheets, or via a market specialist.
  2. There is no restriction on buying and selling U.S. stocks on the same day. (See Figure A below)

    However, there is a restriction for Cash Account holders that they can only use the U.S. sales proceeds to buy U.S. stocks on T+1 (i.e. 1-business day after the trade day). This is to comply with the industry standards regarding "Day Trading Rule" in cash accounts for U.S. securities trading.

    Nevertheless, you can still use the "unsettled" U.S. sale proceeds to buy stocks trading in other markets. (See Figure B below)

    If you want to do "day-trading" on U.S. stocks, you may consider changing your Cash Account to Margin Account. More
    Figure A:All clients can buy stocks and then sell them on the same day (except for Taiwan, Shanghai and Shenzhen markets). More
    Figure B: Cash Account holders cannot buy U.S. stocks by using the "unsettled" U.S. sales proceeds.
  3. Yes, you can "day-trade" U.S. stocks if you are holding a Margin Account. (See Figure C below) However, Cash Account holders can only use the sales proceeds to buy U.S. stocks on T+1 (i.e. 1-business day after the trade day).More

    If you are holding a Cash Account and would like to do "day-trading" on U.S. stocks, you can change your account to Margin Account. The procedure is simple and free of charge.

    After switching from Cash Account to Margin Account:
    • All the fees and charges remains the same as the Cash Account.
    • There is NO margin interest if you do not use the margin facilities.
    • You can request us to set your credit line to ZERO to prevent over-buying unintentionally.
    Figure A: All clients can buy stocks and then sell them on the same day (except for Taiwan, Shanghai and Shenzhen markets). More
    Figure C: Margin Account holders can sell stocks and then buy stocks in any market on the same day.
  4. OTC Bulletin Board is a listing of quotes of over-the-counter (OTC) stocks that don't meet the minimum-net worth and other requirements of the Nasdaq stock listing system.

    Pink Sheets are quotations from market makers of over-the-counter stocks published daily by the National Quotation Bureau. The Pink Sheets get their name from the paper they are printed on.

    In general, the OTC Bulletin Board and Pink Sheets are different from national exchanges in a way that they serve only as a source of price information for market makers. The listing requirements for stocks that are traded under OTC Bulletin Board and Pink Sheet systems are generally less stringent than those of stocks listed in the major exchanges.
    5. Extended Trading Hours (Pre-market and After-market session)
  5. If an US stock is eligible for trading during Extended Trading Hours, the order input page will display the option to allow you to place such orders.

    Select "Allow" and accept the relevant risk disclosures, and then the order will be traded through pre-market, regular market and after-market sessions of that trade day.
  6. For pre-market session, it is 1.5 hours prior to the opening of regular trading hours; for after-market session, it is the 2 hours after the closing of regular trading hours.

    You can place orders for pre-market and after-market anytime, however, such orders will only good for the trade day submitting the orders. The orders with no execution or partial execution will be cancelled and expired at the end of after-market session (i.e. 2 hours after the closing of regular trading hours).
  7. No. Only “Day” orders are allowed. The orders with no execution or partial execution will be cancelled and expired at the end of after-market session (i.e. 2 hours after the closing of regular trading hours).
  8. "Limit" orders only.
  9. No. OTCBB securities are not allowed for trading in extended hours. Only securities trade under National Market System (NMS) (e.g. NYSE- or NASDAQ-listed stocks) are allowed.
    10. Impacts from Corporate Action

  10. Your pending order(s) will be either cancelled or adjusted, dependent upon the nature of the Corporate action and the Exchange activity.

    Your pending order will be cancelled if any of the corporate actions identified in the table below occur. Cancellation will occur irrespective of whether or not the order has reached its Good Till Date.

    Corporate Action: Order Impact:
    • Stock Split
    • Stock Merge / Acquisition
    • Stock Dividend
    • Spin-off
    • Bankruptcy*
    • Symbol Change**
    • Equity De-listing**
    • Cancellation of buy and sell order(s)

    * if the stock no longer trades
    ** if affecting the unique system code

    Your pending order will be adjusted if any of the corporate actions identified in the table below occur. Your order would then be executed at the adjusted limit price.

    Corporate Action: Order Impact:
    • Cash Dividend
    • Spin-off *
    • Adjustment of buy and sell order(s)

    * We will adjust the orders if the Exchange adjusts

    However, an action by the Exchange may cause your pending order to be either cancelled or adjusted if any of the corporate actions identified in the table below occur.

    Corporate Action: Order Impact:
    • Equity Offering
    • Exchange Offering
    • Rights Issue
    • Either cancellation or adjustment of buy and sell order(s), dependant upon the Exchange actions
  11. An adjustment on a pending order, either changing of price and / or quantity, will affect the final executed order amount, causing a difference from the original order amount.

    If the executed order amount is smaller than the original amount of a buy order, the extra held funds will be released to your available cash balance. However, a smaller amount of proceeds will be added to your available cash balance where sell order(s) are affected.

    If the executed order amount is larger than the original amount of a buy order, the extra funds needed will be deducted from your available cash balance. More sales proceeds will be added to your cash balance where sell order(s) are affected.

    Please note that we will not allot shares to your account in the event that your account has insufficient funds to accommodate adjusted buy order(s). You will be contacted by BOOM where this situation arises.

    You may view all adjustments made by the system under the "Order History" page of the Trading Section.
    12. Publicly Traded Partnerships (PTP) Withholding Tax
  12. The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) of the U.S. published final regulations under Section 1446(f) relating to withholding obligations for certain dispositions by foreign partners/investors of interest in publicly traded partnerships (PTPs), effective at the end of year 2022.

    Under IRS section 1446(f), selling of PTPs by Non-US residents will be subjected to withholding tax of 10% on the amount realized (i.e. gross sale proceeds) unless the transaction qualifies for a full or partial exception.

    For additional information about IRC section 1446(f), please visit the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/partnership-withholding
  13. BOOM will no longer accept any buy orders or transfer-in of the securities in the list of PTPs with immediate effect, but support sell order as usual.

    The list of the PTPs can be downloaded here. (Note: this list is subject to change without notice and should not be regarded as an exhaustive list of every publicly traded security that is in scope for section 1446(f).)

    If the sale of securities (from 29 Dec 2022 onwards) is not listed in the provided PTP list but falls under PTP classification, we reserves the right to claim the required withholding tax from you.
    Others
  1. BOOM does not provide investment advice but offers links to other Internet sites that contain third-party investment information.
  2. Currently, Boom Securities (H.K.) Limited does not provide short selling service.
  3. You may exercise your warrant contracts by sending email to us. Your warrant contracts will be exercised as soon as market circumstances allow and your account will be updated immediately upon execution.
  4. When you receive a dividend or other corporate action, you will be notified by email. If necessary, BOOM will ask for a response from you concerning the corporate action. For example, a message will ask you whether you would like your dividend in cash or shares.

Last Update: Nov 2022.