FxPro just announced that it is going to sponsor the Asian Football league and it is interesting not only because it's the fourth footballing team/venue that the broker is sponsoring (I bet Denis is an avid football fan) after Fulham, Aston Villa and AS Monaco but also because it's the first FxPro's serious attempt at cracking the Asian Forex market.
Asian forex market is massive, loosely regulated (retail forex is banned in Malaysia, India and China for instance but local regulators do not actively enforce this ban) and is the single largest growing region in the current retail forex market. FxPro through this sponsoring will try to promote its brand in the region and will probably open local offices somewhere in Asia - it does have an Australian subsidiary which isn't operational yet. FxPro is also predominantly a MT4 broker - which is very popular platform in Asia and may perhaps attempt to enter Japan as well, where MT4 is slowly becoming popular. Coming months will show us whether this paid off but FxPro here employs a very different strategy than other forex brokers trying to enter this market and this alone is worth our attention.
Kuala Lumpur, 13 April 2011: FxPro Financial Services Ltd (FxPro), a leading global broker in foreign exchange today announced it has agreed a deal to be an official partner of Asia’s premier club football competition, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, for the 2011 season.
In the agreement brokered by World Sport Group (WSG), the AFC’s exclusive marketing and media partner, FxPro’s branding will be prominently displayed on-screen at various stages of the “live” telecast of each of the 117 AFC Champions League matches.
The AFC Champions League, a tournament which runs from March until November each season, is contested by the best thirty-two clubs from Asia’s top ten leagues - Australia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Uzbekistan, and two teams from India, Indonesia, Qatar, Syria, Thailand and UAE who qualify through play-offs, for a total prize money of US$14 million and a place in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Said AFC President, Mohamed Bin Hammam, "It gives me great pleasure to welcome FxPro to the Asian football family as a new partner of the AFC Champions League. In appreciation of their faith and trust, the AFC is working at its utmost to raise the level of professionalism of the competition and to return better values to our investors. In addition, as the competition features participating clubs from 13 countries across Asia every year, we are happy to have an esteemed partner like FxPro, who delivers their invaluable Forex Trading services in Asia."
Denis Sukhotin, Founder of FxPro commented: “Asia is a core market for FxPro, and we are committed to developing the strength of our brand in the region through sponsorship. We are delighted to be partnered with such an exciting and popular tournament that is viewed by our clients and stakeholders across the region. FxPro is expanding its profile in Asia and the Middle East so the decision to support the AFC Champions League is a natural fit for the future ambitions of the business.”
Said Ian Mathie, Senior Vice-President, Football, Asean & Australia, World Sport Group, “FxPro makes a great addition to the AFC family of corporate partners – a group of the world’s leading brands and multinational companies.
We are delighted that FxPro has recognised the value of associating with Asia’s premier club competition which enjoys a wide and growing viewership across the region. We look forward to working with FxPro to ensure that the competition successfully delivers FxPro’s sponsorship goals and brand aspirations”.
FxPro has offices in Nice, London, Madrid, Vienna, Moscow and Cyprus.
The platform can be accessed at: www.fxpro.com