Thomson Reuters has expanded its cross-currency trading with the addition of Japanese Yen and Thai Baht to its matching platform.
Real-time, electronic trading of spot in both currency pairs will be provided on Thomson Reuters’ central limit order book to clients in Japan, Thailand and globally.
Direct trading between the currencies through Thomson Reuters will provide a new level of efficiency, liquidity and transparency, the firm said. It also follows an agreement between both countries to promote the use of local currencies for trade and settlement.
The Ministry of Finance of Japan and the Bank of Thailand penned a memorandum of cooperation in March this year, with plans for both authorities to launch initiatives relating to interbank trading between the Japanese Yen and the Thai Baht.
Chantavarn Sucharitakul, assistant governor for the corporate strategy and relations group at the Bank of Thailand, said that the launch of the currency pairs on Thomson Reuters Matching marks another key milestone in the cooperation between Thailand and Japan.
“By enabling commercial banks to trade the JPY/THB currency pair directly on the Thomson Reuters Matching platform, these banks will have more flexibility to manage their local currency liquidity without converting through other major currencies,” she added.
“This will result in lower transaction costs for these banks and their clients. The Bank of Thailand believes that this initiative is a significant step in promoting the use of local currencies of the region.”
Jonathan Woodword, head of transactions sales for Asia Pacific at Thomson Reuters, concluded that further efficiency, liquidity and transparency to the interbank market, will see benefits created for all secondary market participants.
Last month, Thomson Reuters confirmed plans to rebrand its financial services and risk business upon completion of Blackstone’s purchase of a majority stake in the company. The Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk segment will be renamed Refinitiv once the transaction with Blackstone is completed during the second half of this year.