Global brokerage firm BGC partners has received a new licence to sell listed equity options and cash equity products on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
The firm is planning to launch a new suite of listed products on 1 October, strengthening its capabilities in over-the-counter and listed equity-linked products within the region.
"I am delighted that we can offer BGC customers an even broader range of products from the Sydney office," said executive managing director for Asia, Mark Spring. "We will leverage our existing successes and customer relationships to ensure a solid launch of this new product."
The new product offering marks the first initiative of the company to target the Australian retail market via the listing of vanilla option-based products, competing directly with providers of structured products.
However, SRP data shows that this year the competitive landscape for retail structured products has been skewed towards the issuance of fund-wrapped products and deferred purchase agreements, an area dominated by a handful of leading firms such as Macquarie and HSBC.
SRP data also shows that the market concentration for the top five providers across all asset classes has exceeded 85% so far in 2012 compared with last year's 70%, adding to the difficulty for new entrants to establish a foothold amid a shrinking market size and more intense competition.
BGC partners has a tailored suite of over 220 products including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, commodities and structured products for wholesale customers.