BNP Paribas to launch e-FX pricing and trading engine in Singapore

January 10, 2020 - BNP Paribas today announced that it will launch an electronic foreign exchange (e-FX) pricing and trading engine in Singapore, with the support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

“Singapore is a key trading centre for us in Asia Pacific, where we are committed to investing for growth. In Southeast Asia, we have seen our e-FX trading volumes grow by double-digits year-on-year. With the new e-FX Hub in Singapore, our clients will benefit from better access to liquidity, more efficient price discovery and timelier trade execution. Working with MAS on this initiative underscores Singapore’s focus on improving market efficiency and the sector’s growth potential in the region.” said Christophe Jobert, Head of Global Markets for Southeast Asia, BNP Paribas.

Singapore sits at the heart of Southeast Asia, where rising international trade is speeding up demand for more sophisticated FX instruments. At the same time, in the highly dynamic FX market, access to data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can mean having an edge in trading strategy. The new engine will offer e-FX trading of 50 currencies in spot, forward, swaps, non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) and options, as well as commodities e-trading for both precious and base metals.

The launch is part of MAS’ plan to develop Singapore as Asia Pacific’s FX trading hub. Gillian Tan, Executive Director, Financial Markets Development Department, MAS, said: “BNP Paribas’s decision to launch its e-FX pricing and trading engine in Singapore will be an added boost to Singapore and Asia’s FX market. The engine seeks to enhance clients’ trading experiences with improved latency and pricing and will provide more efficient price discovery and improved liquidity in the Asian trading hours for clients in the Asia-Pacific, and support global follow-the-sun execution of FX trades. Over time, global and regional market participants will benefit from the further development of the FX market in Singapore to conduct greater trading and risk management in the Asian time zone.”

The launch of the BNP Paribas e-FX engine in Singapore comes as the Bank prepares to bring Cortex LIVE – its latest single dealer platform – to Singapore clients, in response to increasing client needs for more sophisticated and real-time trading tools. Cortex LIVE features the FX industry’s first real-time digital trading assistant, as well as a real-time market intelligence portal, representing the latest advances in AI and Natural Language Processing.

“With the delivery of both the e-FX engine and Cortex LIVE in Singapore, clients here will benefit from an unrivalled combination of real-time feedback, quicker and more intelligent trade execution, greater transparency and enhanced controls,” said Rawad Khodr, Regional Head of G10 FX Spot Trading, Global Markets, APAC, BNP Paribas.