The Monex Group, Inc. (TYO:8698) has announced that the company’s platform technology subsidiary, TradeStation, has entered into a strategic partnership with Chinese state-owned company, Guosen Securities Company Limited, which grants the latter the exclusive rights to offer TradeStation to its customers and the investor market in Mainland China.
The move marks the next step of the company's expansion into the Asian market which started in June with Korea.
The agreement will allow Chinese investors and traders to use all the advanced perks which come with TradeStation to analyze and trade on their local securities and futures markets. Guosen Securities will be providing a localized version of TradeStation 9.5 to the Chinese investor market.
These include the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SHSE), Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE), Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE), Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) and China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX).
Forex Magnates' reporters reached out and asked TradeStation’s CEO, Salomon Sredni, for some insight into the deal with Guosen Securities and the challenges which a new platform faces in the lucrative Chinese market.
Mr. Sredni explained, “The exclusivity agreement only applies to mainland China; it does not include Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. It encompasses Chinese domestic equities and futures markets, plus equity options when options trading is formally launched in China.”
The Monex Group, Inc (TYO:8698) is already offering its Boom web-based platform for 12 countries and regions of Asia-Pacific, including Hong Kong, however for now, the service does not provide its customers with TradeStation’s technology.
The Road Ahead for TradeStation in China
The localized version of the platform has not been launched yet-the event is to take place sometime in the fourth quarter of this year as the development of the Chinese localization of the platform is still not finished.
“Each market has its own regulations and characters, and to understand them deeply and provide a right solution is always the biggest challenge, but also the most fun part,” Mr. Sredni shared.
The company has already started demonstrations of TradeStation’s functionality to some Chinese institutional investors. Mr. Sredni shared, "Ultimately, our intention is to foster a community of TradeStation users in China, similar to that which we have built in the US.”
The company found that many trading platforms, especially those geared for retail traders, look very similar. This has been viewed by the firm’s management as an opportunity, but doesn't come without challenges.
Mr. Sredni explained, “While the TradeStation platform does have a unique interface and functionality that Chinese customers may not yet be accustomed to, we are working very closely with Guosen to create an experience that combines TradeStation’s unique functionality with existing usage habits of Chinese users.”
While TradeStation does carry with it a strong reputation among some institutional traders in China, overall it is not that widely known in the region. That is why the educational effort is key to make sure that traders in China will be able to truly appreciate the powerful opportunities provided by TradeStation.
With the deregulation of online account opening and one-customer-one-account policy for the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Chinese brokers are expected to face even more fierce competition. Until recently, most of the brokers had been offering similar trading platforms, products and services.
There was not much differentiation for customers, regardless of the broker they chose. Now that the situation is changing, it is vital for brokers to differentiate themselves. Mr. Sredni shared, “The company expects this to be a very rewarding experience for Guosen, since the TradeStation platform will certainly differentiate them and their product offering from those of other brokers.”
“This is also expected to be a rewarding opportunity for Guosen’s customers, as they experience a platform that provides exceptional analysis and execution functionality that is unprecedented in the local market,” he concluded his statement to Forex Magnates.
Deputy CEO of Guosen Securities Company Limited, Chen Ge, stated in the company announcement, “We believe the broad range of specialized brokerage services offered by Guosen, coupled with the power, Leverage and benefits of TradeStation, will greatly appeal to the growing number of serious, active traders and investors in the markets we serve."
