Telstra establishes high-speed route to Hong Kong
HKEx aims to expand its international reach via Tseung Kwan O
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has improved its connectivity to the outside world through a deal with low-latency specialist Telstra Global at its new data centre at Tseung Kwan O.
The firm’s new point of presence is designed to give market participants at HKEx access to Telstra’s high-speed EPL Express service, which connects to financial centres such as New York, London, Frankfurt, Singapore and Tokyo. The idea is to allow financial institutions to access HKEx more easily using the Telstra network, eliminating the need for international investors to expend resources on establishing connectivity on-site in Hong Kong.
Rival company RTS Realtime Systems already has its own data centre presence in Hong Kong, which is part of that firm’s ambitious plans for expansion in Asia Pacific. Meanwhile, Thomson Reuters has been planning to launch its own Elektron co-located service at HKEx’s data centre since April last year.
All three initiatives are part of a bigger trend towards investment in Asia, which has been especially pronounced since the financial crisis. HKEx is also planning its own trade repository, as part of an international drive towards centralised clearing and reporting of OTC derivatives. Meanwhile in November, Hong Kong received a further technology boost when its commodities exchange HKMEx connected to technology company IPC’s Connexus Financial Extranet.
“Global financial hubs, in particular those with connectivity into the stock exchange, require a consistently fast and reliable service which is key to maintaining competitive advantage,” said Martijn Blanken, managing director at Telstra Global. “At the same time financial services organisations are looking for agility and flexibility to maximise opportunities in emerging markets. Telstra Global is committed to provide continuous support for its customers in this sector.”
However, Asia has not been completely immune to the global downturn in equity trading volumes within the last year; Asia Pacific markets traded $1.6 trillion in February 2012, compared to $1.3 trillion in December, according to figures provided by Thomson Reuters.
