In the first half of 2022, BC Technology Group was the epitome of out-of-favor stocks. As a small-cap, Hong Kong-listed, technology business focused on crypto, it sat at the nexus of everything investors were trying to avoid.
But sentiment may be turning. China and Hong Kong stocks, now sitting at historically cheap levels, are back on the radar of international investors (see Investors warm to Chinese equities). Tech companies, too, are attracting buyers again. And the crypto industry is hopeful that the worst of 2022 is behind it, following the collapse of the Luna token, which cost investors tens of billions of dollars, and a string of bankruptcies among major players.
In fact, the turmoil may have boosted BC Technology’s appeal. The group’s main business, OSL, provides digital asset services to professional investors, such as prime brokerage, custody and an SaaS platform.
While others in the crypto world have viewed regulation as an afterthought, BC Technology has tried to stay on the right side of the authorities. In December 2020, OSL received two licenses from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Hong Kong’s financial regulator, allowing it to conduct certain broker services focused on digital assets.
In this interview, William Wang, head of investor relations at BC Technology Group, talks to IR Magazine about negative market sentiment, managing the crypto crunch and how to find opportunity in adversity.
How did you get into IR?
I definitely didn’t expect to go into IR. I actually began my career with my own start-up with a couple of elementary school friends. Back in college, we developed a social media aggregator tool for marketers, called Tint, which was later sold to a private equity firm.
At that point in time, we were a small team of five and I was wearing multiple hats, including business development, operations and finance, because the rest of the team were engineers and designers. That was really my first exposure to companies and investors, and dealing with financials.
After we sold Tint, I went fully into finance. I was working at a Hong Kong hedge fund, which was then the largest shareholder of Chinasoft, the Hong Kong-listed IT services company. It was starting a new business, which was like Uber for engineers in China.
When the CEO realized I had start-up experience, and I realized I didn’t want to be a typical investment analyst (I enjoy human interaction more than analytical work), I joined Chinasoft as a product manager for the new business.
The new business then became the centerpiece of the equity story for Chinasoft and, given my ability to speak English, outgoing personality and financial background, the CFO asked me to go on different roadshows with the company.
Slowly from there, I began to integrate more and more into the corporate finance function – and into investor relations.
This is an extract of an article that was published in the Fall 2022 issue of IR Magazine. Click here to read the full article.
