Despite a backdrop of global crises and uncertainty, Finalto Asia is going from strength to strength with a unique product suite and focus on local requirements.
Alex Yap, Head of Institutional Sales (Asia), underscored that Finalto is committed to innovation. With the expansion of its technology team from Copenhagen to Singapore, the company will do more to expand its footprint in the region.
Commenting on the future plans for the company and what to expect moving forward, Alex said Finalto is uniquely placed in Asia thanks to a number of recent moves. That reflects the company’s expansive ambitions and focus on local Asian markets as a growth lever.
More specifically, Yap highlights the demand growth for low-latency electronic and algorithmic trading in Asia. “However, the physical distance from data centres in London and New York to Asia is one of the main challenges. He went on to say that “the growth of data centres in Singapore will be a great leap forward for the region. As such, Finalto aims to offer liquidity and trading services from its SG3 stack in 2023 to meet the growing demand,” he added.
Yap also delved into the economic implications of escalating US-China tensions. With the clash of the two superpowers, he cautioned that this friction could have a much larger global impact than the Russia-Ukraine war. “Finalto is making strides to prepare for the worst and make sure that the socioeconomic climate doesn’t interfere with the continued growth of Finalto Asia,” he said.
On the macro side, Yap explains that the global economy continues to suffer from accelerating inflation, which forced central banks to scramble to contain runaway prices through steep interest-rate hikes. However, the high interest rate environment will undeniably lead to worsening conditions that threatens a prolonged period of stagflation.
Yap remarked that he expects this scenario to “put pressure on economic growth globally, and not just in the liquidity sector. The resultant risk of stagflation remains if a recession kicks in before inflation can retreat to a safe level too.” In any case, Finalto remains confident in delivering a high-quality service and more exciting developments as the year progresses, he added.
Product offerings are central to delivering for clients and Finalto is working to create the right kind of offering that caters specifically to Asian clients. Since it opened the Finalto office in 2019, the company has been building its presence in the region to provide the best service to clients.
Asia remains a key growth region for Finalto Group, and the company understands that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work in the region as the markets are highly differentiated. As such, the company is expanding its team in Finalto Asia and Finalto Australia, which will strengthen its support for clients from Sydney through to Tokyo, as well as Singapore and London.
“The year of the rabbit could coincidently be a jumpy one for Asian markets, but Finalto is resolute in its investment in the area. The company has assembled a team of developers and integration engineers in its Singapore office to drive technology innovation and development that will work in tandem with the larger R&D and technology team in Copenhagen, Denmark,” Yap explains.
Finalto expanded its offering to better accommodate the market needs in Australia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, UAE and Turkey. The expansion allows clients to hedge gold positions quoted in different weight units and local currencies. The company delivers a broad range of gold contracts tailored to local market conditions with exceptional liquidity and bespoke pricing.
“Finalto is offering gold liquidity in grams against USD and CNH and taels against HKD in Hong Kong. The company is exploring other avenues for price discovery, including the physical trading space, which will complete its puzzle for providing reliable pricing and margin facilities,” Yap concludes.
