Abu Dhabi brokerage ADS Securities to set up shop in Hong Kong

Important step in yuan foreign exchange trading, a global growth sector.

ADS said that a 40-strong team will operate in Hong Kong. AP Photo / Kin Cheung

ADS Securities, the fast-growing Abu Dhabi brokerage, is to open a full trading office in Hong Kong this week, and could follow that soon by setting up in London.

The initiative will also help ADS gear up in the market in Chinese yuan foreign exchange trading, considered the growth sector of international currencies broking.

ADS, which has expanded rapidly in foreign exchange and other brokerage in the two years since it was launched, said yesterday that a 40-strong team will operate in Hong Kong, fully licensed and regulated by the Hong Kong authorities.

International financiers increasingly see Hong Kong as the key to trading in the Chinese currency. The UAE, with its substantial trade with China, could use forex facilities to ease commercial transactions between the two countries.

Philippe Ghanem, the ADS managing director and vice chairman, said the Hong Kong launch was part of its strategy to cover the trading “crescent” between Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

“The next step is to follow up with an office in London, which is in preparation,” he added.

“This is excellent news for our clients as Hong Kong is a very important market which we need to be part of. London is still the largest FX centre in the world and being based in the Middle East we are perfectly positioned to bridge flows from Asia to Europe.”

The Hong Kong office would provide leveraged forex and bullion trading services to clients, Mr Ghanem said, as well as services in derivatives and fixed-interest trading to high net worth individuals in Asia.

“We’ve already had good success in Asia and do lots of business there. We’re already trading Japanese yen and Chinese yuan there, and can only see that growing. I think the UAE can have a great edge in yuan trading,” he said.

The new ADS office is to be headed by Desmond Yeo, an experienced forex trader formerly with the broker GFT Asia, based in Singapore.

“This market is extremely competitive but we know that many clients are looking for a strong well managed trading partner with the access to a tier one bank and non-bank liquidity,” Mr Yeo said.

ADS has a back office and settlement unit in Singapore, but the Hong Kong office will be its Asian headquarters with a full central bank licence, Mr Ghanem said.

“It took 200 years or more for the modern financial centres – London, New York – to be built, and Abu Dhabi will do that, with quality rather than quantity,” he added. “Money can buy lots of things quickly, but the skill is to grow organically.”

ADS executives have advised the Abu Dhabi authorities on preparations for the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the financial free zone planned for the capital next year.

The Abu Dhabi Government is finalising strategy for the market, with the appointment of advisers in marketing and advertising believed to be close to announcement. International recruitment specialists are also undertaking a global “head hunt” for key executives in the top jobs at ADGM.

ADS will be an early member and participant of the new financial market.