Pico Strengthens its Asia-Pacific (APAC) Presence with Opening in China
Firm receives its business license as a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) from Shanghai authorities to provide technology services in China
NEW YORK, June 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pico, a leading provider of technology services for the financial markets community, continues to extend the reach of its globally comprehensive technology solutions with the formation of a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE), British Commercial Pico (Shanghai) Information Technology Co., Ltd.
Through its new Chinese entity Pico can support firms seeking to access this important liquidity location. As China’s markets continue to open up to foreign institutional investors, many top global banks, funds and trading firms are seeking to increase their presence in the region that is home to some of the largest exchanges in the world. Last year, combined investments by foreign funds in Chinese stocks and bonds hit a record $212 billion [1].
Located within proximity to the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) data center and alternative trading locations in Shanghai, Pico’s operation is supported by local engineering and data center management expertise. Initially, Pico will provide proximity hosting and fulfilment services in Shanghai and Shenzhen for non-exchange members as well as market data via its colocation facility in the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) data center. Pico has already built out and is operating network and infrastructure in Shanghai and Shenzhen for one of the select number of foreign investors allowed to trade within the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) colocations.
“We are excited to embark on this important phase in our growth. Launching in China marks a significant milestone for Pico, further extending our capabilities to support clients accessing the Chinese market,” said Roland Hamann, Chief Technology Officer & Head of APAC at Pico. “Pico has invested heavily in building a comprehensive global offering and we look forward to replicating our success in China supporting clients to rapidly access these markets and liquidity sources.”
Pico has established comprehensive connectivity and venue presence across APAC serving electronic trading participants, all supported by local teams. Pico grew its APAC footprint in 2020 with new colocations in Taiwan and the Republic of Korea and expanded further in Japan, offering ultra-low latency access to the JPX colocation ecosystem. Pico also added market data from Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) to its market coverage. Further, Pico’s outperformance, innovation and achievements in the region were recognized through the “Connectivity Provider of the Year” award in the FOW and Global Investor Asia Capital Market Awards 2020. Pico’s global leadership status has also been reinforced by achieving “Best Company” in the 2021 Markets Choice Awards.
Pico’s 47-strong data center presence traverses all key global market centers in the Americas, Europe and Asia along with mission critical exchange connectivity. Its resilient proprietary network, PicoNet™ is a globally comprehensive, low-latency and fully redundant network interconnecting all major financial data centers around the world and access to major public cloud providers. The combination of Pico’s global infrastructure and data services with its analytics and machine intelligence solution Corvil Analytics, ensures clients are equipped with cutting-edge solutions to meet ever-changing market conditions.
Notes to the editor
[1] Bloomberg: Overseas holding in Chinese stocks and bonds
About Pico
Pico is a leading provider of technology services for the financial markets community. Pico provides a best-in-class portfolio of innovative, transparent, low-latency markets solutions coupled with an agile and expert service delivery model. Instant access to financial markets is provided via PicoNet™, a globally comprehensive network platform instrumented natively with Corvil analytics and telemetry. Clients choose Pico when they want the freedom to move fast and create an operational edge in the fast-paced world of financial markets.
To learn more about Pico, please visit pico.net.
Media Contact
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