As interest in the booming Asian Forex market grows, Thailand shines as one of the region's pearls in terms of widespread technology implementation and what seems to be a laid back regulator. It's no surprise that the neighboring Japanese giant GMO-Z.com has just opened a local FX subsidiary in Bangkok. We sat down with tech provider Brokers.Solutions' CEO to learn more about the Thai market.
Please tell us about yourself and how you reached your current role
Our company provides custom web application to clients. 5-6 years ago we had clients asking for custom forex brokerage website development, and after that we have client coming in and asking us for forex brokerage website development. So we designed a dedicated company to support forex brokerage setup and website development, hence the name, Brokers Solutions Ltd. (Hong Kong) and Brokers Solutions (Thailand). Our clients are mostly around this region and we expand our products and support to equity securities brokerage as well.
What are the legal requirements for operating a brokerage in Thailand?
As of now, Forex Trading is still a gray area, so any off-shore entity can accept Thai people as a clients.
What are the main challenges in operating an FX brokerage in the Thai market?
Since forex brokerages are still in a gray area in Thailand, they will face difficulties dealing with local banks to have their system connected to the local banking system. But we have so called 'work around' services to facilitate.
Do local clients have open access to foreign brokers?
Yes.
What are the main channels of communication with local clients?
Email.
How big is the market and what is your main target demographic?
Estimated market size is around USD 0.36B - USD 0.75B per month, with 300,000 traders, and average deposit of around USD 1,200 to USD 2,500. Mainly white collar and office workers.
How does the local market compare to neighboring countries in the region?
To rank the connected countries in terms of market size: Thailand > Malaysia > Laos > Cambodia > Myanmar, based on our observations.
How do you view the current state of the industry?
Asia is a booming market and will keep growing. It still has huge room to grow as only around 5-10% know about or access this market.
What new fields or opportunities do you see as growth potential in the market?
As more and more people are now aware of forex, and more investor joining the market, our services are in high demand and demand keeps growing. But not just that, customer support is growing as well. That's why we're now expanding and have our branch office set up in Manila, Philippines, especially for white label live chat and call-center support tailored for brokerage.
