SynOption Pte.Ltd., a start-up based in Singapore, announced this week that it has launched a Trading Platform for electronic foreign exchange (forex) options.
According to a statement released by the company, SynOption is the first firm to be approved by Singapore’s regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), to establish and operate an organized market for a 9-month period under the Sandbox express framework.
SynOption has also been awarded a grant from the watchdog’s Financial Sector Development fund as a designated special project, the company highlighted in the statement.
The trading platform is for the institutional FX market. It allows investors to execute FX Options trades by requesting quotes for numerous banks on a centralized venue. Already, SynOption has started onboarding institutional clients based in Singapore.
According to the company, it has made good traction in the city-state so far. Furthermore, the platform has signed up top-tiered banks and Liquidity providers, with the firm actively looking to expand its participant base in the coming months.
The founder of the start-up is Anchal Jain, a veteran in the FX Options markets. During his career, he has been employed as a banker. Namely, he was Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase Bank. In this role, he managed the bank’s FX Options business in Asia. He also worked as a Hedge Fund Portfolio Manager with Balyasny Asset Management.
FX Options market has lagged behind
Anchal Jain, CEO and Founder of SynOption
Source: LinkedIn
Commenting on the new trading platform, Jain said in the statement: “SynOption attempts to build a fair platform for trade execution for all participants in the niche FX Options market. We provide an efficient workflow to clients, by getting involved in their entire investment process from idea to implementation, while protecting liquidity for banks in an illiquid space."
“In a world where electronic trading now dominates most linear products, the FX Options market has lagged behind primarily due to the complexity of the product. Leveraging on our experience, we are trying to create an intuitive product that will make the electronification journey easier."
“We intend to increase the scope of product and geographical reach as we gain more of a foothold in Singapore, and for that reason we continue to look for talented individuals to join us in our journey.”
