Reducing geographical latency through the implementation of a new FX hub in the region will speed up the FX trading process for customers, “providing them with a key competitive edge”, said the pair.
Equinix and Options are expanding the FX footprint into Singapore to also improve liquidity and price discovery during Asian trading hours, via Equinix’s SG1 IBX.
Options is deployed with Equinix in 18 of its International Business Exchange (IBX) data centre sites, across 12 metros, with this project marking the fourth FX trading deployment from Options at Equinix. Existing FX hubs reside in London (LD4), New York (NY4) and Tokyo (TY3).
The development supports Singapore’s position as the third-largest FX location globally, with projections suggesting that shaving milliseconds off currency trades could contribute billions of dollars to Singapore’s economy.
Supporting an initiative from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to improve latency for FX trading within Singapore, round-trip latency for price matching orders “should now be negligible”, the two companies said - as compared to a current 70-80 millisecond delay between Singapore and Tokyo, and 220 milliseconds between Tokyo and New York.
John Knuff, vice president for business development at Equinix, said: “With Singapore becoming a major global FX hub, Equinix is working in collaboration with Options to facilitate trading in a secure and low latency environment.
“In an increasingly competitive industry, businesses need to make sure their IT infrastructure is capable of real-time trading and price matching.”
Danny Moore, president and CEO of Options, added: “Singapore is a region we have continued to prioritise for our own growth over the past number of years. Our clients can now more efficiently expand their FX footprints in the region.”
