Digital & Technology

Interactive Brokers opens Singapore Office

Interactive Brokers Group, a global brokerage firm, has announced that it has opened its Singapore office, located in the Marina Bay Financial District.

With the addition of the Singapore operation, the global brokerage firm now has nine entities around the globe in the US, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Luxembourg and the UK, serving over 876,000 clients accounts in more than 220 countries and territories, the firm said in a press release.

David Friedland, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Interactive Brokers, said: “As our client base continues to rapidly increase in Singapore, it was important to create a presence on the ground to support and service active traders and the wealth management community. As a critical wealth management and financial hub in Asia, our expansion in the region reflects that importance and keeps up with account growth.”

Over 37% of Interactive Brokers accounts now come from Asia, up from 27% in 2017, and growth continues to be strong. Interactive Brokers’ office opening also comes as other brokers have exited Singapore or decreased their commitment to the country, said the firm.

With its Singapore expansion, Interactive Brokers can now offer Singapore stocks to investors in the country and directly market its extensive offerings, which include the ability to invest globally in stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds from a single Integrated Investment Account. Clients can also benefit from the company’s pricing on other products, industry-low margin rates and strong spot forex conversion rates.

“Many of our institutional clients such as Variable Capital Companies, Family Offices and Hedge Funds wanted to engage a broker licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and we have delivered. We appreciate the support received from MAS during our application phase, particularly for their responsiveness in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic,” said Friedland.

Interactive Brokers Singapore is led by an experienced team. Guillaume Roux-Chabert, who has extensive institutional experience, heads sales, and Kevin Tan, formerly executive director at a leading investment bank, serves as Interactive Brokers’ Singaporean CEO. Singapore has a well- educated, skilled, and multi-lingual labour force, which will enable the company to supplement its existing client service teams around the globe.

Interactive Brokers Group has been active in Singapore for many years, said the firm, and is well-known among the investment community. The company, which connects to 135 markets in 33 countries, has worked closely with the Singapore Exchange for over two decades, starting as a market maker and now as broker. Interactive Brokers Group actively participates on the SGX derivatives committee and has supported the Exchanges’ new initiatives such as SGX’s recently launched Single Stock Futures.

Chew Sutat, Senior Managing Director, Global Sales & Origination, SGX, said: “We have worked closely with Interactive Brokers for many years promoting the Singapore markets to international customers. IBKR has been a pioneer in developing global electronic trading and we are delighted to have them on the ground to partner for growth together.”