22/01/2023 The start of a New Year is a time for reflection, and as
we celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, we look back on the previous 12 months. We chatted with
CEO of Finalto Asia Alex MacKinnon, Head of Institutional Sales Alex Yap, and Chief Market
Analyst Neil Wilson to get their views on the past year and we can expect from Finalto Asia
in 2023. Finalto Asia has had a very successful 2022: Our Asian office based in Singapore
continues to grow year-on-year and 2022 saw us extending our technology teams into Singapore
– mirroring the structure of our office in Copenhagen. Going into 2023, we expect a
continued emphasis on growth for these regions. “Finalto sees Asia and Singapore as a focal
point for global expansion,” according to Alex MacKinnon, CEO of Finalto Asia. In 2023,
Finalto plans to strengthen its services and support in Asia. MacKinnon went on to say:
“Finalto is deploying its state of the art in house trading and aggregation technology into
SG for liquidity and clearing for our regional partners and clients, making it a very
exciting year for Finalto Asia.” As we double down on Eastern sphere, this of course raises
questions about the state of the Chinese markets as Covid-19 policy continues to evolve.
China’s response to the pandemic has had a significant impact on the region’s financial
markets. However, Chief Market Analyst, Neil Wilson, is optimistic about China moving
forward. In a recent interview he stated: “Overall, the situation in China is a positive for
risk, particularly as the exit from zero Covid was far sooner than most had anticipated”.
We’ve already seen a huge rebound in Chinese equities since November’s trough where mainland
Chinese stocks hit their lowest since early 2019. The move is also likely to be positive for
commodities as the manufacturing sector comes back on. “Domestic demand should also support
services and I’d anticipate significant spillover effects across other Asian and global
equity markets,” says Wilson. As Covid restrictions have eased, so too has Beijing’s
crackdown on tech. With all these culminating factors, the outlook for Asia is more
positive than it has been for some time, making it all the more important for Finalto moving
forward. “We recognise that there is a gap in liquidity aggregation and distribution for
regionally sourced liquidity, we look to enhance our client offering by providing liquidity
and clearing via our new datacentre in SG3,” said MacKinnon when asked about plans for Asia
this year. 
This was a sentiment that was further
reinforced by Alex Yap, Head of Institutional Sales, who went on to state that: “Asian
markets are very diversified. Diversity presented many opportunities for us and is our
catalyst for innovation. We are looking to strengthening our services and support in the
Asian region and continue to work closely with our UK counterpart to serve our clients
round-the-clock.” As a result, clients of Finalto can look forward to improvements in the
company’s trading systems and product offerings, as Finalto “continues to evolve is client
trading systems and product offerings,” reports MacKinnon. Aided by the addition of a SG3
server stack that provides a “significantly superior trading experience,” says Yap. On a
broader note, considering predictions for 2023 in general, Wilson forecasts, “Sluggish
growth in the West may be offset by a more dynamic picture in the East”. OPEC has alluded to
this in its recent oil market outlook, signalling that China’s reopening will drive more
demand for crude. The IEA says China’s reopening will fuel record demand for crude in 2023
which could send prices north of $100 a barrel again. However, Wilson also predicts that
“recession may come for the global economy, but more likely seems a series of rolling mild
recessions across developed markets in East and West”. He went on to say that with the
dollar pulling back from multi-year highs “it could reassert its dominance should other
central banks fall short of the Fed’s tightening”. As ever, anything can happen in the
markets, but regardless, you can expect continued growth and excellent service from Finalto
moving forward.
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