XTX Markets (XTX), to the equity, FX, fixed income and commodity markets, announced today that it is launching an electronic FX (eFX) pricing and trading engine in Singapore.

The launch, which will be done in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will see XTX becoming the first liquidity provider to operate an eFX trading engine in the country. The trading system will go live in June and will operate from Equinix’s mammoth SG1 data center.

XTX claims that the eFX system will increase its counterparties’ capabilities in the Asian markets. More broadly, the company noted that the launch of the system would help increase participation rates and volumes for eFX activity conducted within Singapore. This, in turn, would benefit the regional FX market ecosystem.

Regulator approval

The firm’s comes as a result of the regulator’s drive to implement its industry transformation map (ITM) for financial services. Singaporean authorities have issued ITMs for almost every industry. The financial services ITM was announced in September 2017 and laid particular emphasis on growing the country’s FinTech industry.

More significantly for firms such as XTX, the MAS explicitly stated its desire to improve its FX industry. It noted: “MAS will encourage key FX players to anchor their matching and pricing engines here (Singapore), to enable market participants to benefit from better liquidity and greater efficiency in executing FX transactions.”

Having been chosen to lead the charge as the first liquidity provider to operate a pricing engine in the country, Wai Kin Chan, XTX’s Head of Distribution for Asia, said: ‘We are delighted to be supported by MAS with regard to our regional trading infrastructure in Singapore and look forward to working closely with our key counterparties in its design, development and implementation.”