Reason for this visit

Australia boasts a profound trading culture and a world-recognized regulatory environment. Currency markets are very popular there. Australia's top currency brokers reportedly have more daily trading volume than cash trades in Australian stocks. There are three trading sessions - Asia Pacific, Europe, and the United States. Located in the Asia Pacific region, Australia is the first country to start trading forex and commodities during the day. Although the trading volume is relatively small at the beginning, due to the time difference, the addition of Japanese traders after a few hours can make the trading volume larger. The Europe trading session is the most traded in the global foreign exchange market. Australia is a country with abundant natural resources, rich in oil and coal, precious metals as well as grains. The physical trading of these products in global markets has led to a robust derivatives market, with active participation by both retail and institutional investors. Many exploration and production companies are publicly traded on the securities market, making Australian equities highly liquid and risky. In addition, many commodities are priced in USD, EUR and JPY, which contributes to a highly liquid currency trading environment. The physical delivery nature of Australia's thriving export market supports both spot and forward currency markets. Furthermore, China, one of Australia's largest trading partners and the world's second-largest economy, brings huge amounts of Australian natural resources into the country. China's influence as a consumer nation provides investors in the currency market with a natural trading partner. Demand for resources may provide a potential exchange rate basis for its currency. In order to help investors or practitioners have a more comprehensive understanding of foreign exchange dealers in Australia, WikiFX survey team is going to the country for on-site visits.

On-site visit

In this issue, the investigation team went to Melbourne, the largest (most populous) city in Australia and the capital of state of Victoria, to visit the foreign exchange broker ThinkMarkets (licensee: TF GLOBAL MARKETS (AUST) PTY LTD) as planned according to its regulatory address that Level 18, 357 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

The survey personnel came to the destination at 357 Collins Street, Melbourne on February 13, 2023. Located in the heart of the financial precinct of the Melbourne CBD, 357 Collins Street is regarded as a prime office location in Melbournes core commercial precinct. With premium retail and Grade A office facilities, the A Grade commercial tower is well-connected and easily accessible by pedestrian, vehicular and public transport linkages such as trams and railways and dual entries, connecting Collins Street and Flinders Lane via Fulham Place.

After entering the building, the investigators found from company directory in the lobby that ThinkMarkets and another company shared the 18th floor in the building.

And then the survey team arrived at the 18th floor, and spotted ThinkMarkets‘ company name and logo on the glass door of its room. Unluckily, people weren’t allowed to take photos inside by the receptionist of the company.

After an on-site investigation, it is confirmed that the broker has a physical presence here.

Conclusion

The investigators went to Australia to visit forex broker ThinkMarkets as scheduled, and found the brokers company name at its registered regulatory address, which indicates that it has a physical business office. And investors are advised to make a sensible choice based on a comprehensive consideration.

Disclaimer

The content is used for informational purpose only, and shall not be taken as a final order for making a choice.