NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UP Fintech Holding
Limited (the "Company", a NASDAQ-listed company under the ticker
"TIGR", and all of its subsidiaries and consolidated entities), a
leading online brokerage firm focusing on global investors, today
reported its unaudited financial results for the third quarter
ended September 30, 2021. Total
revenues were US$60.8 million, a
59.6% increase from the third quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP net income
was US$5.3 million.
In the quarter, the Company's internationalization strategy
demonstrated substantial progress. By the end of the third quarter,
customer accounts increased by 117,800 to 1.77 million, nearly
twice that of the same period last year. The number of customers
with deposits increased to 612,000, nearly 3 times that of the same
period last year. Notably, over 80% of newly funded accounts in Q3
came from overseas. The Company has acquired 353,300 funded
accounts this year, surpassing the 350,000 new funded account
guidance it set out earlier this year.
Mr. Wu Tianhua, CEO of UP Fintech commented, "An important step
in our mission to become a leading global broker is our upcoming
expansion in Hong Kong; we have
now obtained Type I (Dealing in Securities) and Type II (Dealing in
Futures Contracts) licenses from the Hong Kong Securities and
Futures Commission. Meanwhile, as the first online brokerage with
SGX memberships across securities trading and clearing, securities
depository, and derivatives trading, the Company is able to provide
more services to local investors which further strengthens our
presence in Singapore. Looking
forward, we are confident that our industry-leading focus on
advancing brokerage technology and delivering a superior user
experience, coupled with our strong emphasis on compliance, will
help us stand out from the crowd."
Exceeded Full-Year Funded Accounts Guidance
Over 70% of Clients' US Cash Equity Trades Are
Self-Cleared
The third quarter results corroborated the success of the
Company's internationalization strategy with global customer
accounts reaching 1.77 million and the number of customer accounts
with deposits reaching 612,000. In the first nine months of the
year, the Company acquired 353,300 newly funded accounts which
exceeded the annual guidance set forth at the beginning of the
year. Total securities trading volume increased by 47.4% year over
year to US$92.6 billion, and total
account balance was US$20.6 billion,
an increase of 88.3% year over year. The Company's core brokerage
business achieved steady growth. Commission income was US$33.5 million, a year over year increase of
72.0% and interest-related income was US$20.1 million, a year over year increase of
105.1%.
UP Fintech continued to expand the products and services
available on its comprehensive fintech platform. For options
traders, the Company's flagship trading App, Tiger Trade, launched
options paper trading to help new investors learn about options. It
also added a Covered Call function to reduce option traders' margin
requirements. For US stock investors, the Company launched new
functions such as tables of pre & post market movers and daily
short volume to help investors better capture market opportunities.
The Company in total provided 28 IPO subscriptions in the third
quarter, such as Li Auto (HK:2015) and Helens (HK:9869). To meet
retail investors' interest to subscribe to Hong Kong IPOs, the
Company added new trading coupons such as zero-margin financing
coupons and fee reduction coupons. Meanwhile, UP Fintech's online
investor community, the Tiger Community, added more investing
courses for beginners, helping them identify and analyze promising
global opportunities.
The Company's wealth management business grew steadily in the
quarter as more clients used the Fund Mall and Cash Plus. Assets
under management (AUM) increased by 98.0% year over year and the
number of clients increased by 153.1% year over year. Leveraging
its global client base, UP Fintech bolstered its cooperation
with top international asset managers; the Fund Mall
added 40 new funds in the third quarter, among which Asia-focused equity funds were particularly
popular. To meet growing client demand for global wealth
management, the Company continued to develop new functions for its
systematic investment plan, which clients use to automatically
invest a predetermined sum in their favorite funds each
month.
As a company that prides itself on innovation, UP Fintech
continued to actively invest in research and development for its
proprietary technologies. By the end of the third quarter, over 70%
of clients were having their U.S. cash equities trades cleared by
TradeUP Securities Inc. (formerly known as Marsco Investment
Corporation). With its solid track record of successful innovation,
the Company won the 2021 Ram Charan Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Practice Award by the Harvard Business Review.
Over 80% Of New Funded Accounts from Overseas
Acquired New Licenses and Qualifications in Hong Kong and Singapore
UP Fintech's internationalization strategy has achieved
remarkable results. Over 80% of its newly funded accounts came from
outside China during the third
quarter.
In Singapore, UP Fintech
offered new futures products including those from Eurex Exchange.
UP Fintech currently offers futures from six major exchanges in the
U.S., Europe and Asia, leading the industry by the number of
futures available for trading on its platform. In July, in
cooperation with Lion Global Investors, it also helped raise
financing for Singapore's first
dividend-paying China-focused ETF.
Retail investors were able to subscribe for units via Tiger Trade,
which reduced the threshold for Singapore investors to increase their
allocation to China.
In addition, the Company launched its business-to-business (B2B)
corporate services in Singapore,
where UP Fintech provides clients with technological solutions that
include advanced portfolio and risk management tools. To further
promote the Company's presence in Singapore and current strategic global
expansion plans, the Company has decided to establish a dual
headquarters in Singapore.
In New Zealand, the Company's
growth potential was well recognized by the industry. UP Fintech NZ
was recognized by APAC Business Headlines as New Zealand's Most Influential FinTech Company
2021. It also has been named as the 2021 Deloitte Fast 50
fastest-growing company in New
Zealand.
The Company will continue to solidify its position as an
industry-leading online broker by executing on its global expansion
strategy and expanding its client base. By acquiring a local firm
licensed with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for
Type I (Dealing in Securities) and Type II (Dealing in Futures
Contracts) regulated activities, the Company will be able to tap
into the Hong Kong market to drive
further growth. In Singapore, the
Company also received approval to be admitted as a Trading Member
of Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited ("SGX-ST") and
Singapore Exchange Derivatives Trading Limited ("SGX-DT") and a
Clearing Member as well as a Depository Agent of The Central
Depository (Pte) Limited ("CDP") from Singapore Exchange Ltd
("SGX"). As of now, the Company holds 46 licenses and
qualifications across 36 categories in Hong Kong SAR,
Singapore, The U.S., New Zealand, and Australia, laying a solid foundation for
long-term growth.
262 ESOP Clients as of Q3
Digital ESOP Solutions to Assist More Companies
Other income, mainly derived from investment banking and ESOP
(Employee Stock Incentive Plan), was US$7.18
million in the third quarter. Despite short-term market
uncertainty, the Company continued to grow its robust pipeline of
prospective issuers.
On the investment banking side of the business, the Company
continues to develop its core underwriting capability as well as
its equity research offerings. By leveraging its detailed knowledge
of the Chinese market, the Company served as an underwriter for the
international offering of XPeng's (HK: 9868) dual primary listing
in Hong Kong, and also provided
substantial subscription orders for several other issuers. In the
third quarter, the Company participated in 4 U.S. IPOs. In
addition, UP Fintech assisted an issuer attract additional
investment in excess of HK$200
million (US$26 million) after
its listing. The Company also released equity research reports
covering renowned companies such as Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Baidu
(NASDAQ: BIDU) during the quarter.
The Company's investment banking business formally launched its
Financial Advisory service and cooperated with over 20 emerging
companies across various sectors during the quarter. With its
strong market insights and technological prowess, UP Fintech is
naturally more connected to these companies and can offer a
comprehensive suite of solutions specific to their needs, all while
assisting them increase their international presence.
A growing number of firms are using equity incentives to
motivate their employees and increase their long-term
competitiveness. UP Fintech, with its proprietary ESOP system,
employs digitization to assist corporate clients better manage
their employee equity programs. In the third quarter, UP Fintech's
ESOP continued to enhance the client experience by adding functions
such as share lock-up management for H-share & A-share
companies as well as the ability to retrace historical data.
UP Fintech's ESOP continues to be trusted by a growing client
base; the total number of clients increased to 262 as the Company
added 46 new ESOP clients in the third quarter. For the first three
quarters of 2021, the total number of new ESOP clients climbed by
266.7% as compared to the same period last year. The swift rate of
ESOP adoption is evidence of the Company's ability to meet the
needs of innovative, next generation clients.
In the third quarter, 53 companies such as Lufax (NYSE:LU) and
Wuling Motors (HK:0305) opened Enterprise Accounts on UP Fintech's
online community. The Company also assisted Xiaomi (HK:1810) and
Cloopen (NYSE: RAAS) target a wide spectrum of investors through
livestreams, digital infographics, and marketing activities,
boosting client awareness of their brands and official events. In
total, both firms' digital campaigns in the Tiger community
received over one million pageviews each. In addition, UP Fintech
assisted Lenovo (HK: 0992) and 24 other innovative firms host an
online roadshow that connected them with an audience of nearly 100
institutional investors and over 600 analysts and high net worth
individuals.
In order to further enhance the efficiency of communication
between listed companies and investors, the Company's Enterprise
Account Platform recently launched a digital dashboard, providing
corporate clients with one-stop services that comprise media
content and community post analysis. Meanwhile, the Company
launched the industry's first investor Q&A function for HK and
US listed companies, increasing engagement and ease of interaction
between corporates and their investors.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward−looking statements. These
statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward−looking statements can be identified by terminology such as
"may," "might," "aim," "likely to," "will," "expects,"
"anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes,"
"estimates" and similar statements or expressions. Among other
statements, the business outlook and quotations from management in
this announcement, as well as the Company's strategic and
operational plans, contain forward−looking statements. The Company
may also make written or oral forward−looking statements in its
periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC") on Forms 20−F and 6−K, in its annual report to
shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in
oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to
third parties, including the earnings conference call. Statements
that are not historical facts, including statements about the
Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward−looking statements.
Forward−looking statements involve inherent risks and
uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in any forward−looking
statement, including but not limited to the following: the
cooperation with Interactive Brokers LLC and Xiaomi Corporation and
its affiliates; the Company's ability to effectively implement its
growth strategies; trends and competition in global financial
markets; changes in the Company's revenues and certain cost or
expense accounting policies; the effects of the global COVID-19
pandemic; and governmental policies and regulations affecting the
Company's industry and general economic conditions in China, Singapore and other countries. Further
information regarding these and other risks is included in the
Company's filings with the SEC, including the Company's annual
report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 28, 2021. All information provided in this
press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this
press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update
any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable
law. Further information regarding these and other risks is
included in the Company's filings with the SEC.
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SOURCE UP Fintech Holding Limited