AMTD Digital: Is It All Just Sizzle or Is There Meat That Matters?

AMTD Digital is having its 15 minutes of meme stock fame.

The Chinese company you’d probably never heard of until very recently blew up the screens of traders worldwide during the normally quiescent North American summer, exploding to the upside by more than 15,000% since its initial public offering in mid-July.

Apparently, management is as puzzled by this parabolic rise as anyone else. On Monday, AMTD said, “To our knowledge, there are no material circumstances, events nor other matters relating to our company’s business and operating activities since the IPO date.”

Stock market machinations may be responsible for the astonishing performance of the security, but inquiring minds want to know if there’s anything substantial payment professionals need to know about AMTD.

The IT company says it offers a wide spectrum of disparate digital services and solutions including financial, media/content/marketing, and ecosystem. It also makes investments in other digital companies. Offerings most relevant to the payments industry include digital banking, insurance and risk management solutions. And the company’s Airstar Bank is one of only eight virtual banks licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Notable insurance lines of business with potential applications in the supply chain and logistics sector include property, marine, cargo, trade credit and factoring. The company also offers all-risk insurance in the construction industry and myriad other coverages, including banker’s blanket bond (BBB) and general liability.

The company touts a management team of “industry leaders, academics and experts in their fields.”

Is There a ‘There’ There?

But the famous cosmopolitan author Gertrude Stein once said of her hometown, “There’s no there there.” Investors, as well as payments professionals, might well ask a similarly formulated question about AMTD Digital.

While the company doesn’t mention the B2B sector on the company’s online, its financial offerings seem as if they might be a good fit, and the combination of banking and insurance may help establish the trust necessary to digitally accelerate supply chain velocity at the margins by eliminating friction and cutting through red tape.

The firm’s Chinese pedigree offers crucial potential to function as a facilitator in the Trans-Pacific trade, the largest route in world history. Any contribution to maintaining stability in the face of turbulent political waters would add massive value to the payments, logistics, and supply chain ecosystem.

On the surface, at least, it appears that while the sizzle has been amplified to ear-splitting decibel levels by Mr. Market, there may be reason to believe that AMTD merits monitoring by payments professionals.