May wipes HK$9,119 per MPF account as Greek crisis drags five-month gain to 0.84pc

This article is a rewrite of a report from June 2012.

In May 2012, global equities were gripped by fears of a Greek euro exit, dragging MPF down over 6 per cent for the month and nearly erasing the first four months’ gains: each MPF member account lost over HK$9,000 in May alone. Using the same Lipper dataset as a companion “worst May” report, this story’s angle was the data breakdown and the June outlook.

May data in detail

(Basis: end-2011 net assets HK$356.035 billion, ~2.573 million members; source: Lipper)

MPF returns: what to watch in June?

Hong Kong stocks had gained 14.4 per cent (+2,660 points) over the first four months, but May’s failed Greek coalition talks and escalating debt crisis sent them down 11.68 per cent (-2,465 points), wiping out most of the year’s gains.

Lipper’s Hong Kong research head said mid-June’s repeat Greek election and whether eurozone members rolled out effective measures in time would not only add global economic uncertainty but mark a key turning point for second-half markets; with too many unknowns, global equities faced a challenging month ahead, and he was not optimistic about June MPF returns for the time being.