The true scope of the company’s exposure is yet to emerge at this stage with little information being released and calls going unanswered. The financial services provider has played a prominent part in Hong Kong’s investment community for a number of years, though a series of high risk trades over the last twelve months has seen its clients become increasingly worried, with few taking assurances as to the state of the company’s financial health following its unprecedented losses.

Following the circulation of rumors that one of Hong Kong’s larger offshore providers was in financial difficulty, many in the investment community believed that Abney Associates was the company in question, though statements from Abney Associates rebuffed the allegations, stating only that the company was actively seeking bridging finance in order to cover short term debts accrued over the last two quarters and that all of its client portfolios were still covered.

It is believed that representatives of Abney Associates were as late as last night meeting with a number of institutions both here and on the mainland in efforts to secure financing, which some sources have placed as high as HK$775 million, though this appears to have been ultimately unsuccessful with the company informing staff that they would no longer be required and closing its offices as of 3 p.m. this afternoon.

In a brief statement released by Abney Associates this afternoon, the company stated that the closure of its operations were simply a temporary measure and that a number of avenues were being sought to ensure that clients of the company would have their accounts active again in the short term with little to no loses expected to be incurred during this period of inactivity. The statement went on to say that all of the company’s clients who had been affected by this move were to be contacted and offered options on how they wished to handle their portfolios in the coming weeks.