Thomson Reuters has announced a joint venture partnership with institutional broker GFI Group and Chinese asset management company SDIC Trust to launch a new China-based FX brokerage to cater to the growing Chinese domestic institutional trading market.
The proposed joint venture is still without a name, but the plan is to have it located in Beijing. Regulatory-wise, the three backers believe that they meet the prerequisites required to obtain an application for a license; the official application materials are being completed and will be filed with the appropriate Chinese regulatory authorities.
This announcement — which likely was made with the agreement of Chinese authorities, especially given that SDIC was involved — marks the latest in a wave of moves by leading players in the global FX world to slowly make inroads into China, potentially the world’s largest FX market. We recently saw HSBC enter the market via a white label from Oanda; and leading Swiss-based FX brokerage MIG BANK opened a Hong Kong office. Although still a small portion of the Retail FX Volume Index, sponsored by Leverate, Chinese FX volumes have been rising rapidly. as reported recently by certain retail FX brokers such as Gain Capital.
For more on the global FX market see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.
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