Singapore-based Kim Eng has been in business for around four decades and you’ll come across clients who’ve been with it almost from the beginning. The firm has a reputation for excellent service at reasonable rates and is clearly good at establishing personal relationships with its customers.
I’ve certainly been impressed when I’ve had any contact with them. The downside is that the service is looking a little limited these days: while it was a pioneer in linking up Asian markets, others now offer more in terms of countries covered and what can be done online.
Hopefully, its recent takeover by Malaysian banking group Maybank will give it the investment and strategic partner to expand. Until then, international investors wanting to cover as much of Asia as possible might be better off with OCBC Securities and Phillip Securities in Singapore or Boom Securities in Hong Kong.
Online trading | Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, USA |
Telephone trading | Indonesia, Japan - Tokyo, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand |
Typical online | min ~S$15-35 |
Online details | Hong Kong up to 0.25% (min HK$100), Malaysia up to 0.5% (min MYR60), Singapore up to 0.275% (min S$25), USA 0.3% (min US$20) |
Typical telephone | min ~S$40-unknown |
Telephone details | Singapore up to 0.5% (min S$40), for others consult broker |
Account fees and inactivity fees | None |
Custody charges for stocks | Non-Singapore shares custody charges: S$2 per holding per month, if fewer than two trades in month or six trades in quarter (max S$150 per quarter) |
Dividend charges | Not stated
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Corporate action charges | Not stated |
Currency conversion charges | Not stated |
Hold cash in foreign currencies | Yes |
Currencies allowed | HKD, MYR, SGD, USD |
Tax-advantaged accounts | CPF, SRS |
Other products and services | CFDs, FX |
Minimum account size | None |
Company location | Singapore |
Further information | Go to the Maybank Kim Eng website |
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