Asia-Pacific: A Mosaic of Opportunity
I’ve had a busy year. My role at Trading Technologies has recently expanded from overseeing just Australia and New Zealand to the entire Asia-Pacific region, and I’m incredibly excited about the opportunities ahead. It’s a chance to truly shape our presence across a diverse set of markets—from our established offices in Australia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong to the many other markets with their own unique cultures, infrastructure and regulatory nuances.
The energy here is palpable. Asia-Pacific is arguably the fastest-growing derivatives region in the world, with over 100 billion contracts traded last year if you include India. My colleagues in other regions are seeing strong growth, too, but not on this kind of dramatic scale. This explosive growth, combined with the region’s status as a genuine innovation hotspot—where exchanges are constantly advancing new technologies, order types and products like carbon and ESG derivatives—makes this a thrilling place to be.
Our Objectives for Growth
In this expanded role, my main goals are to strengthen our relationships with local clearing firms, brokers and regulators to make market access smoother. Connectivity can be a bottleneck in this region, so we’re working to expand access where we already have a presence, like China, Korea and Taiwan, which will make it easier for offshore investors to get in on the action.
Beyond connectivity, I’m focused on driving deeper adoption of our advanced trading tools, like our TT Premium Order Types and algorithmic execution strategies. This will help our clients improve their long-term performance. My vision is to build TT into a unified, cross-asset platform for all of APAC, from derivatives to cash equities, and to grow our capabilities in compliance and trade surveillance.
Navigating a Complex, Dynamic Market
When you look at Asia-Pacific market structure, it’s not a monolith. The Pacific component, including Australia and New Zealand, is centered around the ASX, which is highly transparent and regulated. The client base here is dominated by institutional players like superannuation funds and fund managers.
Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, the market is more fragmented across multiple national exchanges and has a greater mix of retail and proprietary trading firms. While retail participation in Australia is still developing, it’s exploding across the rest of the region, from India to China and Korea.
The differences don’t stop there. Asia-Pacific includes over 40 countries, spanning developed markets like Japan to emerging ones like Thailand. This diversity means clients expect tailored service, multilingual support and increasingly 24/7 coverage. We also have to navigate complex regulatory requirements, different clearing regimes and varied reporting standards. All of this creates challenges, but it also creates immense opportunity for us. The high demand for seamless connectivity and advanced execution tools makes our services essential.
The Future of TT in APAC
Our footprint in Asia-Pacific is already strong. We have co-location in all the major markets and are growing as a multi-asset, multi-service platform that covers the full trade life cycle—from futures and options to FX, fixed income and crypto, all with integrated trade surveillance.
Moving forward, we’ll continue to improve our connectivity, especially for cross-border investors. Our recent acquisition of ATEO, a middle-office managed service provider, is a huge step. It gives us pre-trade credit checks and automated clearing connectivity, which is incredibly appealing to firms looking for a one-stop solution.
We’re also enhancing our FX and crypto offerings. These markets have a lot of synergy, and with APAC accounting for about 70% of global Bitcoin trading volume, our focus here is critical.
Ultimately, my vision is for TT to become the go-to global platform for APAC—a seamless, default provider for the entire trade life cycle, from execution to clearing and allocation, across all asset classes. We can only achieve this by deepening our partnerships with local exchanges, clearing houses and fintechs to reduce friction and lower barriers to entry for everyone.
And yes, with our four main offices here in Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong—and people on the ground in other places like Taiwan—my new role will involve a lot more travel. Fortunately, I have an amazing team across the region, so I won’t have to be in the air all the time to get things done.
If you’re in APAC and want to explore how our offerings can help your business – or if you’re in another part of the world and want to access the APAC markets – get in touch to learn more.