The American moved to Hong Kong in 1995 as regional head of Dow Jones Business Information Services. After leaving the company last year, he started Boom with fellow American Jonathan Hakim, formerly of the Manager Group's on-line operations. The two raised the millions of dollars to start Boom by approaching young, Net-savvy members of some of Hong Kong's most prominent families. In February, Boom got the official nod from the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong to operate as a dealer. Boom was not treated differently.
Boom is governed by the same regulations as any other dealer.
Technology now allows us to do this cheaply and efficiently. The web pages are currently in English. Chinese will be offered this month. By June, a Japanese-language option also will be available. In the gossipy city of six million, word of mouth helped spread the month-old service.