Hedge fund that made 56% in FX backs new trading platform

(Feb 8): The US$5.1 ($7.2 trillion) trillion-a-day foreign exchange market’s newest upstart trading venue has big ambitions to bring more of the world’s currency transactions to Asia. It also has some big-name backers.

Singapore-based Spark Systems will start a live trial of its currency platform in March, hoping to lure traders with lower fees than existing offerings in the city. The firm won financial support from Singapore’s central bank and is part-owned by Dymon Asia Capital, the US$5.5 billion investment manager whose currency hedge fund returned 56% last year.

Spark is counting on prominent patrons to help it break into a foreign-exchange market long dominated by major Western financial firms. Its goal is to create a venue for Asia-based institutional investors to trade with each other in Singapore, instead of routing orders to London or New York, according to Chief Executive Officer Wong Joo Seng. While Singapore’s share of currency transactions has climbed in recent years, the city is still a distant third in the global rankings -- a gap that both the central bank and regional money managers are keen to narrow.

---

Related Stories

• Three Arrows Capital's Zhu arrested while trying to leave via Changi Airport
• Hedge funds 'throwing in towel' on stocks as rally forces unwind
• Credit Suisse was part of foreign-exchange 'conspiracy network,' lawyer says

---