The first of its kind, POSIT Marketplace will combine institutional liquidity from POSIT, ITG's world-leading crossing network, with dark liquidity from some of the largest internalisation pools and external venues in Asia.

Bringing down the costs of trading in Asia
POSIT Marketplace is designed to aggregate liquidity and reduce the costs of trading for fund managers and institutional firms. It does so by addressing the three largest cost factors: spreads, market impact and delay costs1.

Launched on the one-year anniversary of POSIT Marketplace in the U.S., the Asian platform will bring together dark liquidity from multiple sources in the region and aims to replicate the cost savings already delivered in the U.S which averaged 11.5bps across all market caps in Q3 09. With average trading costs around 66% higher in developed Asia versus the US2 the cost savings could be even more significant.

Commenting on the launch, Michael Corcoran, ITG's Head of Sales and Trading, Asia Pacific said: "Fund managers trading in Asia face particular challenges to find liquidity. They can now access multiple regional dark pools from a single source. Using innovative technology, POSIT Marketplace makes the hunt for liquidity simpler, more efficient, and ultimately should reduce costs for fund managers and the investors whose money they're managing."

The system is currently available for trading Hong Kong equities, with Australia and Japan to follow.