IS Prime Hong Kong, part of ISAM Capital Markets, announced this Thursday that it has been granted a Type 3 Leveraged Foreign Exchange Trading license by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong.

The license will allow IS Prime Hong Kong to offer leveraged forex trading services to institutional professional investors. Previously, the company offered technology to the institutional space, but not trading.

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In particular, the prime of prime broker will now provide institutional professional investors with customized pricing primarily sourced from Tier 1 institutions. This will be offered in conjunction with multi-asset Prime of Prime services and comprehensive front-to-back technology solutions.

In a press release seen by Finance Magnates, the company said that it was awarded the license after a rigorous application process. The named Responsible Officers are Will Robbins, Head of Asia and Crystal Ho, Vice President – Sales, North Asia, who are both based in Hong Kong, and Raj Sitlani, Managing Director, ISAM Capital Markets, who is based at the group’s headquarters in London.

IS Prime Hong Kong has secured the license from the SFC shortly after its move this month to larger premises in Times Square. This move, combined with the granting of the license, shows a lot of confidence from the prime of prime broker despite the current turmoil in the country.

IS Prime: We’re not worried about Hong Kong turmoil

Finance Magnates reached out to IS Prime Hong Kong to learn more about their motivations, whether they are concerned about the current situation in Hong Kong, and if the company has future plans for expansion.

Speaking to Finance Magnates, Raj Sitlani said: “We are not at all concerned by the recent turmoil. Hong Kong has remained a very important and strategic place within the global financial markets. 

“The regulatory regime is stringent, the legal system is extremely sophisticated and capital markets are highly liquid.  This, together with the access and connectivity that Hong Kong has to financial resources from Mainland China and indeed overseas, means that it is the right place for us to build out our Asian business.”

“We will be adding headcount to our sales and ETS divisions in short order, to continue to support our growth in the region and further attract a diverse range of institutional business. We are not currently pursuing other licences in the region but if the appropriate business opportunity arises we will look closely at it.”

In the press release Will Robbins, Head of Asia, IS Prime, said: “Since opening our office in Hong Kong in February 2017, we have built a comprehensive understanding of the requirements of FX market participants, including brokers, banks and fund managers, and we are now in a strong position to offer them the full range of services from within the ISAM Capital Markets group – most notably our market-leading liquidity, risk management, and technology services. We are deeply committed to the Asia region, and the Hong Kong market in particular, and are excited to be officially opening our doors for business.”