Live from Singapore: Saxo Bank launches its new REST based interface

Today, as Saxo Bank further hones its device-neutral, next-generation trading platforms, the firm has launched its new REST based interface, which arrives on the market under the designation ‘open API’.

An instrumental part of the new SaxoTraderGo platform which FinanceFeeds CEO Andrew Saks-McLeod exclusively experienced at its initial launch in Paris earlier this year, the open API is designed to allow developers to build their own applications on Saxo Bank’s infrastructure, appealing to retail investors and financial institutions alike which will be able to leverage Saxo Bank’s technology-led investing capabilities with their own specific proprietary applications.

Its all GO in Singapore and across Asia

At the  Saxo Capital Markets  conference today in Singapore, Adam Reynolds, CEO of Asia Pacific at Saxo Capital Markets Pte, the licensed subsidiary of Saxo Bank serving one of the most sophisticated regions in the world for electronic trading across interbank and retail sectors, addressed several high profile industry executives from global firms with an established presence in Singapore and the greater Asia Pacific region, much to their great interest.

During its long, 23 year life, Saxo Bank has not only kept pace with technological change but sets itself apart from many firms by being a self-admitting disruptor by having a policy of continual innovation, staying well away from the conventional and pushing the limits of platform and trading system development.

At today’s conference, following an introduction by Saxo Bank Global Head of Sales and Relationship Management Jennifer Hansen and H.E. Berit Basse, the Danish ambassador to Singapore which marked the 50th year of diplomatic relations between the two nations, a keynote speech focusing on the very fitting subject of collaborate economy was delivered by Rachel Botsman, an international expert on collaborative technology was delivered to take a look at the central aspects of disruption using multi sector examples to make sense of root causes and to discuss how these will innovate the technical aspect of the financial services industry.

Asia is a technological leviathan

Asia is known as a leviathan among technologically advanced regions, and indeed industry professionals in the local area at senior executive positions in global entities are very keen to look at disruptive and avantgarde technology for the region.

We’ll reveal what key incumbents in the online broking and financial services industry are focusing on. We’ll also take a look at Tencent, Alibaba and other new entrants, whilst examining the Chinese market and how it is embracing the internet to evolve its financial system

Vey-Sern Ling, Internet Analyst, BNP Paribas

True to Saxo Bank form, financial technology’s leading edge met face to face with the finely tuned competitive edge in motorsport, with Lotus Formula 1 racing driver Romain Grosjean appearing as a special guest. Indeed, Mr. Grosjean combines the two equally advanced sectors of motor racing and electronic trading as he himself has spent a number of years among Switzerland’s global wealth management giants as a trader, and once described in charismatic detail to Andrew Saks-McLeod the similarities between the telemetry in his racing car to the charting and millimetric precision of a trading platform.

The ever-developing subject of Prime Brokerage came up once again, this time with the emphasis on how technological advancements by companies taking the lead on proprietary evolution are influencing the dynamics of hedge fund capital raising and prime brokerage solutions rather than the nine-month-old diatribe surrounding whether prime brokers may need to improve their risk model and look toward bi-lateral liquidity.

During this discussion, Matthew Cartwright, Director of Sales and Relationship Management for APAC at Saxo Bank went head to head with Kurt vom Scheidt, Executive Director and Global Head of FX at the company to take a close look at the deleveraging that has occurred worldwide, and how access to prime brokerage has decreased as many large banks have increased costs, or indeed turned their back on this particular sector altogether.

Aditya Laroia, Head of Institutional Business for Asia Pacific at Saxo Bank and Christian Hammer, Global Head of Platforms went into fine detail on how wealth management has remained among one of the very last sectors in this industry to fully adopt digitalization and how wealth managers are facing rising expectations from clients, congruently leading to a challenge in maintaining pace with innovation.

The FX business is home to some of the fastest evolving technology in the world, and indeed Saxo Bank’s take on how to encompass this across all sectors whilst allowing individuals, white label partners and institutions to have an integral role in development of custom apps and systems, is testimony to this ethos indeed.

Photographs: Top Left – Andrew Saks-McLeod showcases the SaxoTraderGo platform in mid 2015. Center Right – Adam Reynolds, CEO of Asia Pacific at Saxo Capital Markets Pte. Lower Center – Formula 1 racing driver and trading enthusiast Romain Grosjean with the Lotus car in Saxo Bank livery.