KGI Securities enters into strategic M&A with Ong First Tradition

With focus on serving SE Asia.

KGI Securities Co. Ltd. (KGI Securities), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE)-listed China Development Financial Holding Corporation and the second largest securities company in Taiwan, announced today that it has entered into a strategic M&A with Singapore’s leading futures broker, Ong First Tradition Pte Ltd (Ong First Tradition) to form KGI Ong Capital Pte Ltd (KGI Ong Capital).

This strategic transaction will see the emergence of a new force in Singapore’s financial services market which, subject to the approval from the relevant regulatory authorities, is capable of offering a wide range of financial services including securities, futures, derivatives, foreign exchange as well as wealth management and corporate finance solutions. KGI Ong Capital will serve as a springboard of the Group to tap opportunities in South East Asia.

The transaction is subject to relevant regulatory approvals.

Mr Foong Hock Meng, Director of KGI Securities Singapore, said, “The strategic investment in Ong First Tradition’s Singapore operations is a milestone development aimed at accelerating our penetration and broadening of our Asian footprint. The transformational development will bring about the best of both worlds, combining KGI’s financial strengths with Ong First Tradition’s wide distribution network and extensive regional clientele in Singapore’s futures and options markets. Jointly, we look forward to offering a strong and wide-ranging suite of financial products and services to the Asian market.”

Ong First Tradition’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ong Ka Thai, who will continue to spearhead operations at KGI Ong Capital, said, “As the first futures brokerage in Singapore and a pioneer clearing member of the SGX-DT and SMX, Ong First Tradition is well-recognised as a brand name of quality in providing broking services to commodity and financial futures, options and forex markets. Accordingly, we are enthused by this opportunity to work with a market leader like KGI Securities, and will strive to enhance our value proposition to our current, former and potential clients in the Asia Pacific region.”

Ong First Tradition is a leading futures broker with a rich heritage as the first futures brokerage in Singapore and a pioneer clearing Member of the Singapore Exchange–Derivatives Trading (SGX-DT) and Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX).

Founded originally as a joint venture investment with the then First National Bank of Chicago in 1984, Ong First Tradition has grown rapidly beyond Singapore through partnerships with the Compagnie Financière Tradition Group, one of the world’s leading inter-dealer broking firms in financial and commodity-related products.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of TWSE-listed China Development Financial Holding Corporation, KGI Securities is a market leader in a range of areas including brokerage, investment banking, asset and wealth management, futures, equity derivatives, institutional equities, institutional research and fixed income business. In addition to an established presence in Taiwan, its subsidiary – KGI Hong Kong Group – is one of the 10 largest futures brokers in Hong Kong operating a full-service securities firm for retail and institutional clients, offering brokerage activities such as equities, bonds, over-the-counter structured products, securities margin facilities and advisory services.

Its Singapore arm, KGI Capital (Singapore) Pte Ltd, is the first Taiwanese derivatives trading and clearing member of the SGX-DT.