Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about our services

How can I open a securities account with Oriental Patron?

You can visit our office in person or send us the completed account opening form with other required documents by post.


What is the minimum balance for maintaining an account with Oriental Patron?

No Minimum balance is required for maintaining an account with Oriental Patron. However, if you wish open an account by post, a cheque issued by a Hong Kong licensed bank bearing the same name as shown in your identity document and the signature on the cheque issued by you should be identical to be signatures signed on the Account Opening Form. The amount of your cheque should not be less than HK$10,000 made payable to “Oriental Patron Securities Limited”.


When can I activate the Electronic Trading Services account?

The Login Password will be sent to you by post after your account is successfully opened, while the Account Number will be assigned to you by email. You are recommended to change your Login Password once you have received it. If you do not receive our notification, please contact our Customer Services Department at +852 2842 5878.


Do you provide real-time price quote service?

Yes, we provide real-time price quote and financial news for all shares traded on the Hong Kong Exchange. Subscription is optional and a service fee is charged monthly.


How can I terminate my real-time price quote service?

If you wish to terminate the subscription service, please complete and return the "Notice for Close Account/Service Termination" at least 5 days before the end of a month. Otherwise, charges for the succeeding month will be charged.


Do I need to open a new account in order to trade via the Internet if I am an existing Oriental Patron client?

Yes, you need to sign an Electronic Trading Services Agreement.

What should I pay attention to before I start using securities trading?

You should make sure funds or securities are in your trading account before securities trading, as the full trading amount is required to place a purchase order. Also, securities being sold must be in the account, without restriction, prior to placing a sell order.


When can I place a trading order for the first time?

You can login to the Electronic Trading platform by clicking “eTrading” at our homepage with your Account Number and Trading Password.


What types of Electronic Trading Services instructions can I submit?

Electronic Trading Services only accepts Limit Orders, i.e. an order to buy or sell a stock at a specific price. Limit orders are used to buy securities at a price not exceeding a specified price level; or to sell securities at market prices but only down to a specified minimum price limit. In some volatile markets, you may wish to place orders at limits well beyond the current market price in order to ensure execution.


What is the Opening Session for securities market?

Pre-opening Session for the securities market is an additional trading session of 30 minutes commencing before the Morning Trading Session. The pre-opening session will commence at 9:00 am, and comprises four periods:

Order Input Period

9:00 am - 9:15 am

Pre-order Matching Period

9:15 am - 9:20 am

Order Matching Period

9:20 am - 9:28 am

Blocking Period

9:28 am - 9:30 am


How long do my instructions stay "valid"?
Step 1: Enter your Account Number and Trading Password to access our eTrading platform.
Step 2: Enter the stock symbol, price and quantity, and then click the “buy/sell” button in order to submit the order.
Step 3: A confirmation box will pop up automatically after your order sent, showing the stock symbol, order type, quantity, price, reference commission, other transaction fees and total amount.
Important: Double check if the order details are correct, and then click the "Submit" button and to proceed the order..

Can I cancel trading orders?

Transactions may be executed rapidly during trading hours, and therefore change or cancellations are in no way guaranteed. If the order has been partially filled, then what is remaining of the order can be cancelled/ changed.


How long do my instructions stay "valid"?

Orders valid during trading hours (from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm) will be treated as "Day Orders" and any outstanding orders will be cancelled after market closes.


How can I track the status of my orders?

Once you have sent an instruction, the real time status of your order will be displayed in the order book (including order reference no., stock no., buy/sell, price, status, quantity, order time, currency and order channel).


How can I check my buying power?

There are following order status in Electronic Trading Services:

  • Comp - Order wholly completed
  • Part - Order partially completed
  • Pend - Order being sent to the Exchange
  • Queue - Order is queuing in the Exchange
  • Inac - Ask/Bid is Below/Above Market 5%
  • Canc - Order cancelled

Note: All "Inac" orders should be cancelled immediately, please re-input your orders or call us for order details if in doubt.


What's the difference between pending and queuing status in the order book?

"Pending" indicates the order has been received by the system but not yet to be sent to HKEx. "Queuing" indicates the order has been received by the system and sent to HKEx.

In normal trading hours, "Pending" normally occurs when order price is beyond the HKEx's 20 spread levels limitation. Under this situation, we suggest that you to cancel these "pending" orders and re-input the orders or call us for order details if in doubt.


Can I check my transactions history through the eTrading platform?

There are two ways for you to view the order status:

  • You may click on the "Order History" and select the time range, the corresponding order history will be displayed in the order book; and
  • You may click on the "Portfolio" to display details including stock no., price, current price, shares and current value (If you want to view the update portfolio details, please click the "Refresh" button).

What statements will I receive?

You will receive a Combined Statement of Account whenever there is any cash or transaction movement within the account. Furthermore, you will also receive a Monthly Statement Account if you hold any stocks on hand or if there is any changes in the balance.


How can I contact customer services?

In case of system failure, you can call our Customer Services Hotline at +852 2842 5878 and our designated dealing desk will handle your orders immediately.


How do I know if I have encountered system disconnection?

There are possible causes of system disconnection owing to communication interruption, hardware problems. In general, if there is no response from the system on order placement or modification, you should cease immediately further order placement or modification and immediately call our Customer Services Hotline at +852 2842 5878.


Can I change my trading passwords?

Yes, you can change your trading passwords after you login to your Electronic Trading Services account. You may click on the "Change A/C info" button and follow the instructions on the page.


What can I do if I forget or lost my trading password?
  • Notify Customer Services immediately at +852 2842 5878 for unauthorized access prevention.
  • Complete and return the "Request for Change/Reset of Personal Particular".
  • Once your application is validated, a new trading password will be sent to you by post shortly thereafter.
  • For your own protection, you must change a new trading Password before using the services.

How to deposit funds into my securities account?

There are two ways for you to deposit fund into your securities account:

  • Delivering of cheque* to us
  • Direct deposit into the following designated bank accounts
Bank Account Number
Hang Seng Bank 024-267-176006-001
Hong Kong Bank 004-500-312517-001
Nanyang Commercial Bank 043-472-0-039420-2
Important: *All payments by cheque must be made payable to: ORIENTAL PATRON SECURITIES LIMITED

How can I deposit funds to Oriental Patron Account?

Please login to our eTrade platform, you may click "Settlement " → "Cash Deposit" and then follow the instructions to enter the information and send back to us after each deposit. Alternatively please write down (i) client name, (ii) client account number and (iii) sign on the bank-in slip (This sign must be same as your signature on the Electronic Trading Services Agreement and Electronic Trading Services Client Information Statement) and fax it to our Operations Department at +852 2842 5816 before 11:00 a.m. in the trading day. After the deposit is validated, we will credit the funds into your Electronic Trading Services account on the same day. You may click the "Portfolio" button to view your deposit status.


How can I withdraw funds from my Electronic Trading Services account?

Please login to our eTrade platform, you may click "Settlement " → "Cash Withdrawal" and then follow the instructions to enter the information and send back to us. Alternatively please write a fax with your account number, withdrawal amount and signature (This sign must be same as your signature on the Electronic Trading Services Agreement and Electronic Trading Services Client Information Statement), then fax it to +852 2842 5816 before 11:00 a.m. We will credit your designated bank account on the same day.

For clients who hold a bank account with other banks, you can either pick up your cheques from us in person, or request us to remit the fund via CHATS or TT.

How can I deposit securities into my securities account?

Physical Scripts
You can deliver the shares to our Head Office at Suite 4004, 40/F, Two Exchange Square, 8 Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong. A confirming receipt will be issued to you and we will deposit the securities into your securities account as soon as possible. You can login our eTrade platform, and then click the "Portfolio" button to verify the securities deposited after each deposit.

Transfer from other brokers
After login our eTrade platform, you may click the "Settlement " → "Stock Deposit" button and then follow the instructions to enter the information and send back to us.


How do I withdraw my securities from my Electronic Trading Services account?

After you login our eTrade platform, you may click "Settlement " → "Stock Withdrawal" and then follow the instructions to enter the information and send back to us. We will inform you that once the requested shares are ready.

What online security mechanisms are Oriental Patron offering to protect my data?

The access, communication and conducting transactions over the internet of other electronic means or facilities involve the use of public networks and represent an attractive target for attacks by intruders. We believe that security is an important element for us to maintain the quality of our services; therefore, our system is protected through the use of a combination of security software and hardware.

Password
To maximize security, we issue all Electronic Trading Services users both an Account Number and Trading Password. When entered together, the Account Number and Trading Password will allow you to browse the Electronic Trading Services facility. For your own protection, you must change your Trading Password before first time using Electronic Trading Services.

Cryptography
There are a number of ways to encrypt data into a secure format for transmission, such as sending data from your browser to our Electronic Trading Services. Your web browser currently using RSA public key cryptography, and the key is randomly generated using either a 40 bit or a 128 bit encryption engine. For better security we encourage you to download a register a strong encrypting browser from browser suppliers, e.g. Microsoft and Netscape. Different sites use a variety of encryption levels to scramble and unscramble information transferred from one site to another. We will accept a browser encryption level of up to 128-bits, however.

Firewall
It is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network, which is implemented in both software and hardware. Firewall is frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet and Intranets. All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria.


What kind of products can be traded via the Electronic Trading Services?

All stocks, CBBCs and warrants listed on the HKEx.


How are my orders processed under the BSS-AMS/3 system?

Currently we are fully AMS/3 enabled and this together with the real-time straight through processing allows investors to experience fully automated trading. Orders placed through our Electronic Trading Services are routed via the Open Gateway/ Broker Supplied Systems (BSS) to the Exchange where they are automatically matched and an electronic confirmation is returned to you.


How can my account information be updated?

Please complete and return the "Request for Change/Reset of Personal Particular" to us directly for such changes.


What should I do if I have further question?

Please contact our Customer Services Hotline at +852 2842 5878.