Singapore based Fintech Spark Systems has closed on a “Series BB” funding round raising S$15m (USD $10.5m). The funding comes from Citi and HSBC as well as OSK Ventures. They will join the existing investor base including; Vickers Venture, Dymon Asia Ventures, Dymon Asia Capital, Jubilee Capital, FengHe and Goldman Sachs
Spark Systems is building a “next-generation high-speed trading platform” that is said to be resilient, cost-efficient, and ultra-low latency.
Spark Systems founder & CEO, Wong Joo Seng said they are grateful for the confidence being placed in their company by some of the most respected and influential financial institutions in the world.
“That this is occurring during a period of significant macro-economic upheaval further underscores the strategic nature of the FX industry infrastructure requirement we are addressing,” Seng added.
Alaa Saeed, Managing Director of Global Head of Electronic Platforms and Distribution at CitiFX, explained:
“CitiFX looks forward to working with Spark Systems to continue to raise the bar in the vendor landscape. We are very pleased that Spark Systems has signed the FX Global Code and has demonstrated commitment to fair and transparent market practices. We are excited to support Spark Systems in an effort to provide strategic technology solutions for our mutual clients, and to further the advancement of Singapore as a low latency financial hub through our local infrastructure and data centre.”
Gavin Powell, Head of Global Markets, HSBC Singapore, said that Spark’s technologies will advance Singapore’s position as a leading global venue for FX.
Patrick Yee, Executive Director, OSK Ventures International Berhad, added that Seng and his team have been working on making the FX connectivity ready for a truly global trading platform.
According to the company, the funds raised will enable Spark Systems to further enhance its in-house technology capabilities by deepening the expertise of the development team and building modules for rapid onboarding of clients and counterparties and improved analytics.
Spark also intends to expand its footprint into major financial centres of New York and London. The company also plans to develop a marketplace for G10/emerging economies currencies with low latency trade matching data centre located in Singapore.
Spark Systems is headquartered in Singapore and is a grant recipient of the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) under the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) scheme from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).