Despite Friday's choppy market, some retail investors said the market's long-term prospect was good.

 

"I'm not worried," said Elizabeth Chow, a university librarian. "It's a correction. Even if it is not and the bear really comes, I can wait for the next upswing."

 

"The market is apparently panicky and oversold," Chow said. "I look for a brief rebound," she said.

 

Stressing that she makes long-term investments, the 35-year-old saw her stock value drop HK$40,000 till Friday. She started to invest in Hong Kong shares five years ago, when local market greeted a bull run.

 

Chow has no idea about when she could sell her stocks as they are still below the buying prices.

Instead, she thinks of buying more battered shares, mainland-based banks being her favorites, if the market continues to plunge.

 

"I plan to buy HK$100,000 more shares at a proper time," she said.

 

Having suffered the stock woes in 1997 and high-tech bubble burst in 2001, Mark Chan said people would not be as panicky as they used to be.

 

"Most of individual investors now don't buy stocks with borrowed money," he said.

 

Patrick Leung, who had bought some penny shares a few months ago, said he thought the market was to complete the current correction.

 

"It won't always drop," he said. "It's not a bear market, as the economic fundamentals are good. Not like what we experienced in 1997."

 

Leung's stocks slid below his buying prices, but he won't sell them at any time soon.

 

"I would like to wait for them to bounce back," he added.

 

However, some investors have cleared their holding, saying the market will continue to slide in the coming days.

 

Derek Chan had lost more than HK$10,000 in the stock market in recent days. He was particularly sad as he bought the share at a high price.

 

"The situation is crazy and bleeding," he added, blaming the stock market plunge to the rating firms and analysts' errors, which affected global sentiment.

 

Another investor, Rebecca Cheung, said she had sold her stock on Friday morning. Cheung made her decision after reading analysts' report.

 

"I did not suffer much. I lost only less than HK$10,000," she added.

 

Finance chief urges investors to be rational

 

Two senior officials said the economic fundamental in Hong Kong is good and there is no systematic risk despite sharp tumbling of stocks recently.

 

Financial Secretary John Tsang said the economy is on a sound track and urged investors to be rational in a choppy market. He also said there was no structural risk in Hong Kong.

 

However, "the stock market will remain volatile (in the coming week)," he added.

 

Joseph Yam, chief of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said Hong Kong's financial system is stable and resilient.

 

"We had conducted tests and found the (financial) system is risk-resistible," he said.

 

He also pointed out that local banks were little exposed to subprime mortgage.

 

He earlier said the HKMA didn't see urgent need to inject liquidity into the banking system. Central banks across the world had done so to boost capital need of their markets.

 

(China Daily August 18, 2007)