XIACY vs 1810 – What’s The Difference?

Last updated on July 27th, 2021

Xiaomi Corporation is a Chinese company that focuses on electronic products. Ranging from smartphones and laptops to even shoes, their products are built to cater to a global market.

If you are interested to invest in the company, you might be confused about the different ticker symbols. As with many companies, Xiaomi has listed their stock on several exchanges.

Each ticker symbol represents a stock in various markets. There will be two particular stocks that we will be discussing in this article: XIACY and 1810.

In particular, let’s spell out their differences and explain which stock might be more suitable for you.

The difference between XIACY and 1810

Both stocks represent the same company, Xiaomi. However, XIACY is a US stock on the OTC market while 1810 is a Hong Kong stock on the HKEX. This also means they differ in their trading process, trading currency and minimum units to invest in.

Before going into their differences, it helps to understand more about where those ticker symbols came from.

Back in May 2018, Xiaomi filed to go public on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX). The stock was then labelled as 1810.

For XIACY, it has a different story.

When we buy XIACY shares, we are actually buying its American Depository Receipts (ADRs). ADRs appear when 1810 shares are traded through a depository bank in exchange. That process is initiated by a company or investors themselves.

In essence, these ADRs represent the underlying ordinary stock. They can then be traded either in a national exchange or the OTC market.

In XIACY’s case, it is sold on the OTC market. You can determine whether a stock is traded in the OTC market by Googling its stock code.

If the label shows ‘OTCMKTS‘, this means that the stock is listed on the OTC Markets.

With this general understanding about their ticker symbols, let’s now compare them.

They are listed in different markets

XIACY is listed on the OTC market whereas 1810 is listed on the HKEX.

For a reputable and well-known exchange like HKEX, stocks listed on it has its benefits.

For example, these exchanges often have strict listing requirements. This includes verifying the information that is submitted by applicants. As it is done by professional advisors from the exchange committee, they ensure that the companies’ information are accurate and reliable.

With these regulations in place, we have less to worry about in terms of the company’s authenticity.

On the contrary, stocks on the OTC market have fewer listing requirements. This has particularly drawn many small companies to apply for a listing there. These companies are often known to be speculative as they do not have a proven track record yet. As such, it has painted the OTC market in a bad light.

In addition, the OTC market has attracted investors who are seeking speculative investments. This consequently causes massive buying and selling on the stocks’ shares. As a result, OTC stocks are subjected to high volatility.

If you are intending to invest in an OTC stock, it helps to be aware about whether you are able to stomach the huge swings in the stock prices.

Different trading process

The process of trading on the OTC market is different compared to a standard exchange. On the outside, you can buy and sell both types of shares through the broker’s platform after setting up a brokerage account. Internally though, they are carried out differently.

When it comes to stocks listed on a standard market exchange, the shares are typically traded through an automated software system. This has important consequences:

• price quotations are accurately recorded
• trades are effected instantly

In contrast, trades in the OTC market are negotiated via the telephone. The manual procedures inevitably results in unreliable information and execution delays.

If you are looking to trade on the OTC market, it is valuable to understand these shortcomings.

Different trading currency

Their trading currencies are different because the stocks are listed on exchanges based in different countries.

The trading currency of XIACY is in USD while that of 1810 is in HKD.

This is important depending on the currency of your stock account. As funds are exchanged from one currency to the next, the exchange rates can eat into your returns.

As such, it would be good to choose either XIACY or 1810 if it is in the same currency as your domestic currency.

As seen on Google, below are the prices and currencies recorded:

Minimum number of units to invest in

The minimum number of units to invest in can also affect you depending on the amount of capital you have.

XIACY shares can be bought one at a time.

However, for 1810 shares, they can only be bought at a minimum of 200 at a time!

If you calculate the cost of buying 200 shares of 1810 and convert it to USD, it comes up to about $695 USD!

This is unlike XIACY which lets you own Xiaomi’s stock at a much lower cost of around $17.4 USD.

If you have a small capital, it is much easier to buy XIACY shares.

Different trading hours

Their trading hours will differ because XIACY and 1810 are listed on exchanges in different countries.

Here are the trading hours for both listings:

The timings are taken with reference to Singapore Standard Time (GMT +8).

If you are someone who considers the trading hours for investing, this would be important for you.

Different commissions charged

Before you buy Xiaomi’s shares, it would be helpful to know the trading fees that you will incur. That way, you can factor them into your costs.

Here are some examples of the commissions that you’ll be charged when trading in different markets:

Broker	XIACY Rates	1810 Rates
Tiger Brokers	0.005 USD/share Min 1.99 USD/trade	0.03% * trade value Min 15 HKD/trade
moomoo (powered by FUTU SG)	Min. 1.99 USD/trade	0.03% * trade value Min. 18 HKD/trade
FSMOne	0.08% Min USD 8.80	0.08% Min HKD 50
Saxo	0.02 USD Min USD 7 (Classic)	0.15% Min HKD 100 (Classic)
Standard Chartered	0.00231% (Sell trades only) Min USD 10	0.005% Min HKD 100
DBS Vickers	0.18% Min USD 25	0.18% Min HKD 100

Both Tiger Brokers and moomoo (powered by FUTU SG) have rather low fees to trade in either the HKEX or US markets.

Type of holding

XIACY shares are ADRs whereas 1810 shares are the ordinary shares of Xiaomi.

ADRs are a form of equity security that was created specifically to simplify foreign investing for American investors.

Fidelity

To recognize ticker symbols that are actually ADRs, you can search for their stock code on Google.

ADRs are not a particular concern for investors. However, there is a much bigger concern for you.

Like many Chinese companies, Xiaomi uses the Variable Interest Entity (VIE) structure in both Hong Kong and the US.

A variable interest entity (VIE) refers to a legal business structure in which an investor has a controlling interest despite not having a majority of voting rights.

Investopedia

This poses a risk to investors as China may clamp down on the VIEs and nullify the shares!

While this possibility may be low, we still would not want to ignore it.

It is also important to note that as an investor in Xiaomi, you do not have an ownership in the company. Instead, you only have an ownership of the VIE.

As such, they do not have voting rights in the company.

Both stocks are fungible

Both XIACY and 1810 are considered fungible stocks.

Fungible investments can be bought and sold on multiple exchanges.

The Balance

When you have shares of XIACY, you can sell them as 1810. Inversely, when you have shares of 1810, you can sell them as XIACY.

This can come in handy when you are thinking of converting between them.

Converting between these two stocks

So, how do we convert these stocks?

The official conversion rate for these two ticker symbols is 1-to-5.

1 share of XIACY is equal to 5 shares of 1810.

First of all, you will need to find a broker that gives you access to the HKEX and the OTC market.

Next, you can follow the procedures according to the respective broker to convert them.

However, these conversions can be quite expensive.

For example, Interactive Brokers charge a number of fees to help you convert, like

Type	Cost
Creation fee	0.05 USD/share
Processing fee	500 USD
Cable wire fee	17 USD

Not only that, there are risks involved in these conversions, such as

• price fluctuations
• exchange rate fluctuations

As the costs of these fluctuations are paid by you, it is helpful to account for these losses into your decisions.

Verdict

After discussing the points above, let’s summarize them:

	XIACY	1810
Type of Holding	ADR (VIE)	Ordinary share (VIE)
Type of Market	Over-the-counter market	Standard market exchange
Trading Process	Manual	Automated
Currency	USD	HKD
Minimum Units to Invest	1	200

So which stock should you be choosing? Here are some points you can consider when making your decision:

#1 Type of market

The stock prices of XIACY would contain higher volatility compared to the 1810 stock. That would be hard to take in for investors who have low risk tolerance.

If you are an investor who prefers stable stock prices, 1810 might be a better choice.

#2 Trading process

XIACY stock is traded manually which can be inaccurate and error-prone.

In contrast, 1810 stock is traded electronically which do not have the same problems. Also, the trades are processed faster. As such, 1810 stock would be better for investors in general.

#3 Minimum units to invest

Investing in 200 shares at a time can be a huge commitment for investors. It can also pose an issue for those who have limited capital. Thus, this factor for buying 1810 stock can be a deterrent.

In the case of buying XIACY, you can buy 1 share at a time which is way more available for investors to own Xiaomi.

Conclusion

To conclude, both XIACY and 1810 are ticker symbols that represent Xiaomi Corporation. While you can invest in their stocks and take a share in their profits, both of them are operating under the VIE structure. This results in you not having ownership and voting rights in the company.

In particular, there is a risk that China may crackdown on Xiaomi. The possibility is small, but it helps to take that into account when buying Xiaomi shares.

XIACY stock is in the OTC market rather than a standard market exchange. This negatively affects their:

• popularity
• volatility
• accuracy of trades

This might deter you as an investor. Nonetheless, you can buy them one share at a time. This is a plus point in contrast to 1810 stock where you can only buy 200 shares at a time.

For an investor who likes greater liquidity, stable volatility and reliable trades, buying 1810 shares would be a better choice. If you have shortage of funds, it may help to wait until you have saved up the required amount to invest.

However, if you wish to have Xiaomi in your stock portfolio despite shortage of funds, buying XIACY shares is a good way to go.

Besides buying them in the standard market exchange or the OTC market, you can opt to invest in ETFs that have Xiaomi as one of their holdings. Some examples include Hang Seng Tech ETF and Hang Seng Index ETF. Both of them have some weightage in Xiaomi which might interest you!

Are you passionate about personal finance and want to earn some flexible income?