Tiger Brokers, the NASDAQ-listed, Xiaomi-backed online brokerage focused on global trading across the world's top markets, announced the addition of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to its mobile and online trading application, Tiger Trade.
This brings the current number of exchanges available to regional investors to 6; the US, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Australia: the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, Shanghai/Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX), and since Monday, the ASX.
The addition of ASX to Tiger Trade's offering addresses regional investors' increasing appetite for equities, even during the current COVID-19 pandemic: Tiger Brokers witnessed a surge in account openings especially during June to August, with an increase of 43% y-o-y following the addition of SGX to the platform on June 8. With the ASX seeing an average daily on-market trading volume of AU$5.4 billion (S$5.36 billion) in July, up 21% y-o-y, it was natural that Tiger Brokers would want to provide access to ASX trading on its platform and to expand its offerings to potential ASX investors.
Mr Eng Thiam Choon, CEO of Tiger Brokers Singapore, said, "Tiger Brokers believes that technology is a strong enabler to providing convenient access for retail investors to meet their investing needs. The access to another popular stock exchange like the Australian Securities Exchange will allow investors to further diversify their investment portfolio."
Demand for Overseas Exchanges
The top 10 stocks traded on the Tiger Trade platform included Tesla, Alibaba, Apple and Netflix from US exchanges, Tencent and Alibaba from Hong Kong, rounded out by banking stocks, glove makers and Singapore Airlines (SIA) in Singapore. Across exchanges, the sectors most traded were ihealthcare, followed by the technology sector.
"Industries like healthcare and technology have seen tremendous interest from retail investors, and surging stock prices. Tiger Trade has also seen an increased number of transactions in these stocks. We are also seeing retail investors more comfortable using online trading platforms such as ours, similar to the financial industry as a whole, which is rapidly digitizing. With more people at home, the consumption of technology has risen, and Tiger Brokers is well placed to meet that rising trend," said Mr Eng.
Mr Wu Tianhua, CEO of Tiger Brokers, commented, "A major increase in new customers in Q2 2020 as well as a strong growth momentum in total client assets is indicative of the appeal of our service offerings to both retail and institutional clients. The improvement of these key business metrics showed strength in the business amidst the COVID-19 induced market volatility."
Tiger Brokers Singapore is able to tap the expertise and insight of its parent UPFintech Holdings (NASDAQ: TIGR) in helping drive fintech innovation in Singapore and Southeast Asia. UPFintech Holdings focus is on global Chinese investors. UPFintech's Q2 earnings shared positive momentum with revenue growth of 121.8% y-o-y to US$30.1 million, on trading volume of US$46.8 billion. Client assets hit a high of US$8.3 billion as of June 30, an increase of 132.9% from a year earlier. UPFintech led the rankings of underwriters among brokerages for US IPOs during H1 2020. Despite COVID-19, UPFintech assisted many firms in settling sizable orders, showing the group's capability to serve its 500+ institutional and corporate clients. Earlier this month, it received approval for five new Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA") licences in the United States.