Latest news with #foreignexchange
South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Singapore boosts currency market dominance as daily volume jumps 12% to US$1.27 trillion
Singapore's foreign-exchange market expanded this year, doubling in size over the past four years and widening its lead over Hong Kong, as activity rebounded after the Covid-19 pandemic and demand for hedging climbed amid heightened geopolitical tensions. Advertisement Average daily turnover reached a record US$1.273 trillion in April, according to a semi-annual survey published by the Singapore Foreign Exchange Market Committee on Tuesday. Volume jumped 12 per cent from October 2024, and doubled from April 2021, the survey showed. Traditional foreign-exchange trades – including spot transactions, outright forwards and swaps – amounted to US$1.14 trillion per day, while daily turnover of over-the-counter currency derivatives stood at US$133 billion, the committee said. They increased by 8 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively, from October 2024. The growth reflects a broader trend of investors and multinational firms turning to the Southeast Asian financial hub for liquidity and currency risk management as trade wars and military conflicts in some regions spooked global markets. Investors also stepped up asset diversification as the US dollar depreciated amid US President Donald Trump's tariff war. 02:39 US-China trade remains 'critical', despite fraying relations and trade wars US-China trade remains 'critical', despite fraying relations and trade wars 'Singapore's FX surge reflects its deepening role as a regional liquidity hub, with structural demand from asset managers and corporates amplifying post-pandemic flows,' said Charu Chanana, Singapore-based chief investment strategist at Saxo Bank. Rising hedging needs and interest-rate volatility could also have driven the uptick, she said after the report.
Wall Street Journal
16 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Akzo Nobel Posts Lower Profit, Sales on Currency Hit, Tepid Markets
Akzo Nobel AKZA -4.34%decrease; red down pointing triangle reported lower net profit and sales for the second quarter, citing adverse currency headwinds and subdued markets, and lowered its full-year earnings expectations to account for foreign-exchange rates. The Dutch paints company said Tuesday that it made a second-quarter net profit of 124 million euros ($145 million) compared with 177 million euros in the same period last year.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Brazil AG Wants Probe of Possible Insider Trading on US Tariffs
Brazil's attorney general is seeking a probe into possible insider trading in the country's currency markets around the announcement of US tariffs on Brazilian goods. The request follows local media reports of significant foreign exchange transactions before and after the official tariffs announcement, 'suggesting possible use of privileged information (insider trading) by individuals or legal entities,' according to a statement from the Brazilian attorney general's office.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Former HSBC trader has fraud conviction overturned
A British trader who was jailed in the United States for allegedly manipulating foreign exchange rates has had his conviction overturned after a nine-year struggle for justice. Former HSBC trader Mark Johnson, 59, has fought to establish his innocence ever since he was convicted of fraud in 2017 in connection with a large foreign exchange trade six years earlier. He served time in jail in US federal prisons and in Wandsworth prison in the UK, exhausting avenues of appeal before being released on license in 2022. After the US courts in 2023 overturned a law that was used to prosecute him, he launched a fresh appeal, which has now been allowed by a US appeal court, granting him a full acquittal. Mr Johnson's US lawyer Alexandra Shapiro said: "We are delighted that justice has finally been achieved for Mark Johnson, after a nine-year ordeal. This is a case that never should have been brought." Prosecutors at Mr Johnson's trial alleged he had conspired with a colleague to increase the price of sterling against the dollar before executing a huge foreign exchange trade for HSBC's client Cairn Energy, converting $3.5bn into pounds. They alleged that on behalf of HSBC, Mr Johnson arranged to buy sterling in advance, inflating the currency's value so that the bank made a quick gain before executing the trade for its client at a higher price – so called 'front-running'. Following his conviction a foreign exchange industry body, ACI Financial Markets Association, petitioned the court, protesting that purchasing a currency ahead of a large trade was a normal industry practice to manage a bank's risk, known in the industry as 'pre-hedging'. "Mr Johnson carried out the Cairn transaction consistent with industry practice and in violation of no law or rule, and he looks forward to moving on with his life," said Ms Shapiro. Mr Johnson, a father of five from Hampshire, was originally arrested on 19 July 2016 as he accompanied his son and a friend to JFK Airport on his way home to the UK and was later tried and convicted on 18 October 2017. His arrest took place four days after demands in Congress for the US government to pursue the prosecution of HSBC employees who had avoided facing justice. Those calls were prompted by a congressional report, Too Big to Jail, which revealed that the British government had secretly intervened on HSBC's behalf in 2012, when the bank faced the risk of prosecution for helping a Mexican drug cartel launder $881m and for facilitating trades with US-sanctioned countries such as Iran, Libya and Sudan. Senior executives at HSBC had urged him to accept a new role in the US in March 2016, four months before his subsequent arrest. Because he was arrested in the US, it meant that there was no need for extradition proceedings. By contrast his alleged co-conspirator, Stuart Scott, contested extradition to the US and won his hearing. The US Department of Justice later withdrew the charges against him. More on this story Ex-HSBC banker found guilty of fraud
Zawya
5 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Citi, Ant International pilot AI-powered FX tool for clients to help cut hedging costs
SINGAPORE: Citigroup and Singapore-based financial technology firm Ant International have launched a pilot program using artificial intelligence to help clients better manage foreign exchange risk, the companies said on Friday. The program combines Citi's Fixed FX Rates solution, which is widely used by the banks' clients in sectors such as e-commerce, with Ant International's Falcon Time-Series Transformer model, an AI forecasting tool that helps businesses reduce hedging FX costs, according to a joint statement. The pilot program, developed initially for aviation clients, has already been used in live transactions with a major Asian airline able to reduce cost in its fixed FX hedging for online ticket sales, the companies said. "The 30% hedging cost savings Ant International has achieved for the pilot airline customer shows the cost efficiency that can be achieved with AI-enabled FX hedging," Kelvin Li, general manager of Platform Tech at Ant International, said. "We are excited to expand the solution with Citi to serve more businesses and industries," he added. Ant International is an affiliate of China's fin tech giant Ant Group, founded by billionaire Jack Ma. It provides global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology and has operations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. The launch came six months after Citi began rolling out new AI tools to be used by employees in eight countries, providing such access to 140,000 employees globally. Large banks have been using AI tools in more targeted ways. Morgan Stanley has a chatbot that helps financial advisors in interactions with clients, and Bank of America's virtual assistant Erica focuses on day-to-day transactions of retail clients.
