Execution and research broker ITG has extended the reach of its POSIT suite of crossing and aggregation tools to Singapore.
The POSIT suite – which includes POSIT Marketplace, a liquidity aggregation service, and POSIT Alert, a block crossing network – is now available in six Asian markets: Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. ITG also offers POSIT in 21 EMEA countries, as well as Canada and the US.
Because trades below 50,000 shares or S$150,000 must be traded on exchange in Singapore, expects the POSIT Alert block trading service to be the most-used element of the POSIT suite in Singapore.
Ofir Gefen, head of electronic brokerage, Asia-Pacific at ITG, said the extension of POSIT to its third new Asian market in nine months reflected an increased appetite for crossing tools in the region. He added that POSIT’s launch in Singapore would provide new opportunities for buy-side firms to source liquidity among peers.
“The Singapore market can present challenges for institutional traders given the relatively concentrated equity market and high spreads,” he said.
POSIT and POSIT Marketplace increased combined Asia-Pacific volumes by more than 40% in the first three months of 2013 compared to the previous quarter.
ITG intends to launch POSIT Alert in new Asian and other markets in 2013.