After its release in Europe, Alpha x has now been made available in Asia. Alpha x is Societe Generale's crossing network which matches its clients' buy and sell orders on a particular stock through an integrated electronic execution platform.
Depending on available liquidity, orders are either fully or partially executed in Alpha x. Any remaining orders will be routed to the regulated exchange. As such, Alpha x is a natural source of liquidity fed by the institutional client order flow where Societe Generale acts as a broker.
Alpha x is available to all Institutional investors using Societe Generale's electronic trading strategies, regardless of the execution channel (Sales Trading, Program Trading, and through the Direct Strategy Access (DSA) service).
Alpha x Asia offers the following client advantages:
Protecting investors' interests:
Alpha x preserves institutional clients' interests thanks to a completely anonymous system, guaranteeing confidentiality of orders.
Access to a major source of liquidity:
Alpha x offers institutional investors the opportunity to access a major source of alternative liquidity through SG Securities (HK) Ltd, which is one of the top tier participants on the Hong Kong exchange.
Reduce transaction costs:
For institutions that choose to benefit from this natural source of liquidity, Alpha x executes orders by crossing at mid-spread of the market's best bid and offer, reducing implicit transaction costs by half. Societe Generale estimates this benefit amounts to a gain of 0.05% to 0.20% depending on the stock.
Alpha x has been available on all major European markets (excl Spain) for more than a year and has been a great success that investors have come to rely on for their execution. Its launch in Hong Kong is a first step in bringing the same alternative form of liquidity to Asia. Alpha x on Australia and Japan are soon to follow.