Gold-i's Japan rep XBridge secured the sale.

Readers of our column will recall that we reported back in December that UK-based Gold-i, one of the leading providers of MetaTrader-related software and connectivity solutions, had targeted the Japanese market for expansion by partnering with Tokyo-based MetaTrader distributor XBridge, and introducing a plug-in for its MT bridge specifically to adhere to Japanese regulations.

Apparently the partnership has borne fruit, as Gold-i announced they have signed up their first client in Japan for their Gold-i Gate Bridge for MetaTrader4, MT4-based Japanese FX broker CyberAgent FX. CyberAgent FX is among the top 10 online FX firms in Japan by volume. It is a subsidiary of Internet services company CyberAgent, which is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with a market cap of about $1.8 billion (¥150 billion).

The Gold-i announcement hi-lites the increasing competition in the software-for-Forex-dealers business, centered mainly around:

• Mobility, and making mobile trading more user-friendly – both Saxo Bank and MetaTrader's developer MetaQuotes, for example, have made a number of announcements recently dealing mainly with improvements and upgrades to their mobile offerings.
• Regulatory, helping Forex firms deal with the myriad regulations and regulators they must deal with, at a time when regulations are become more numerous and more complicated.
• Liquidity, connecting Forex firms to an increasing number of liquidity sources across an increasing variety of instruments, as price competition begins to heat up.

For more information on the global FX industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.