Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Hong Kong Futures Exchange
Above is the final bell of the Hong Kong Futures Exchange which began in 1976 and although it continues electronically, it's trading floor closed in 1999 (not in 2007 as listed in the video). The HKFE has the infamous distinction of going bankrupt after the 1987 crash when a large HK speculator defaulted on $1 billion HKD in losses and tried to cite two Panamanian companies he established to trade through as limiting his liability. Ultimately he was held liable for half of the losses with the Hong Kong taxpayers paying the balance. The following article describes the incident further, linked here.
Below is a nice visual as if one was walking along the trading floor although it mostly centers around an options pit.
Finally, here's a clip of the floor a few days before what was the 1997 mini crash which cratered the Asian financial markets.