Xiaomi-backed trading app Tiger Trade launches SGX trading

TIGER Trade, a mobile and online trading application by Tiger Brokers, launched access to the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Tuesday. 

This comes amid an increase in trading volumes among Singapore-based retail investors during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Tiger Brokers, a global online stock brokerage. 

Tiger Trade counts US brokerage Interactive Brokers, Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, and renowned investor Jim Rogers among its investors and backers. 

The SGX inclusion adds to Tiger Brokers' current list of stock exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq stock market, as well as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 

This will strengthen Tiger Trade's offerings for its customers, who can now invest in financial instruments such as a-shares, equities, exchange-traded funds, futures, and stock options, Tiger Brokers said. 

The Tiger Trade app offers retail investors a commission rate starting from US$1.99 or S$2.80 per trade, the company said. From now till Dec 31, 2020, it is offering commission rates for Singapore stocks at 0.08 per cent per trade with no minimum charges.

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Launched in February this year, the Tiger Trade app has seen "increasing traction" among retail investors, Tiger Brokers said. 

The brokerage said it saw the number of account openings almost double from March to April, with transaction volume soaring 345 per cent within the same period. 

In April this year, SGX saw its total securities market turnover rise 35 per cent on the year to S$29.6 billion. This was followed by a 17 per cent increase year on year to S$27.2 billion in May. 

Wu Tianhua, chief executive officer (CEO) of Tiger Brokers, said: "Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and economic uncertainty, Singapore's financial markets remain competitive and well-positioned for sustained growth."

He said recent announcements such as those from banks and US-based tech companies also showed "increased interest and appetite for investing".

The company believes this is a good time to expand its services to align with the interests of its users. "Our goal is to offer our users the options to manage or diversify their portfolio, while providing them with latest news updates around trading behaviour globally on our platform," Mr Wu said. 

About 25 per cent of Tiger Trade's users are based around the region and outside of Singapore. These users are leveraging on the platform's online account-opening feature to trade US and Hong Kong equities through a mobile platform, the company said. According to Tiger Brokers, most of these users come from Malaysia, Indonesia and India.

Eng Thiam Choon, CEO of Tiger Brokers (Singapore), said many retail investors are now hearing about share prices and global markets on the news, which have increased their interest in trading. 

"However, we generally advise our users and retail investors to do a lot more research on what they are about to purchase and on how companies were faring a few months before the pandemic," said Mr Eng. 

He said the Tiger Trade app provides users with up-to-date stock quotes, market data, and news. These are information which will keep users abreast of the economic landscape in trading and help them make "informed decisions", said Mr Eng. 

Looking ahead, Tiger Brokers also plans to provide access to contract for differences by the first quarter next year.