Forex trading in Singapore: market review and top online brokers

Singapore has magically grown to one of the leading global financial centers in a short span of shorter than 50 years – a blink of an eye in the world’s economic history. The factors of success can be attributed to the right time, space, people, and talented leaders. Given the complexity and integrity of modern markets, there are many risks and challenges in a rapidly-changing environment, affecting huge international capital flows and being disrupted by crisis after crisis. 

The Singaporean market is regarded as free, innovative, moving, and business-friendly. For several years, Singapore has been one of the few countries with an AAA credit rating, and the only Asian country to achieve it. Singapore attracts a large amount of foreign investment as a result of its location, skilled workforce, low tax rates, advanced infrastructure, and absolute intolerance for corruption.

According to the WEF’s ranking of 141 counties, it is the world’s most competitive economy. There are more than 7 thousand multinational corporations from the United States, Japan, and Europe. Nearly 44% of the workforce is made up of non-Singaporeans. However, despite market freedom, Singapore’s government operations have a significant stake in the economy, contributing 22% of the GDP. 

The currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar (SGD or S$), issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Currently, around US$33 billion worth of Singapore Dollars is traded every day on the Forex market. The SGD is paired with many world currencies, with some of the most common being the US Dollar, the Australian Dollar, and the Euro.

Online Forex market of Singapore

Singapore is one of the leading Forex trading centers, where operations show large daily trading volumes. It makes the country one of the leading global power hubs in finance, constantly growing and therefore attracting many international investors and accommodating vast trading companies or brokers.

Every day, over half a trillion US dollars of Forex is traded there. This sector is pivotal to Singapore’s standing as a major trading and corporate treasury hub in the region and underpins the vibrancy of Singapore’s international financial center.

With all the top five global banks housing their regional Forex trading teams here, Singapore offers a deep and liquid market for the trading and hedging of G-10 currencies, as well as the Asian emerging market ones.

As a major global financial center, Singapore governmental authorities are keen to develop Singapore’s Forex market to serve the growing trade and hedging needs in the region. To this end, it is working with market participants such as banks and trading platforms to build up Singapore’s e-trading infrastructure.

Popular online trading instruments in Singapore

As one of the world’s largest currency and fixed-income exchange hubs, Singapore is the primary market for foreign exchange, shares, and bond price discovery in Asia. Instruments there give traders the tools they need to position themselves in a constantly changing market environment.

Let’s look into some of the most popular (according to official data published on the Singapore Forex exchange website) instruments in detail: 

Equities: Derivatives provide a simple, but worthy alternative to stock trading and offer a wide range of strategies to meet a variety of portfolio management requirements.

Interest rates: Uncertainty in the global interest rate environment can be the main reason for investors’ strategy formation. To manage exposure to changes in the global rates’ picture, the Singapore exchange provides access to futures and options contracts on bonds.

Currency pairs: Currency markets are the initial platform of exchange for global trade. To minimize the impact of foreign exchange volatility, the Singapore exchange offers the ability to trade not only the most popular pairs but also major Asian currencies. 

XM Group can provide you with the opportunity to trade SGD/USD! This broker has some of the most favorable conditions for currency pairs trading, including good leverage and a bonus of up to $5000 for your first deposit! 

Commodities: The rapid growth in the global demand for commodities seen in recent decades is expected to continue as emerging markets modernize their infrastructure and rising middle classes seek higher-value products in greater quantities. At the crossroads of Asian finance, Singapore sits at the heart of this consumption story and is best positioned to match investors with investment products that span all the major commodity classes.

Oil: Singapore is the world’s top bunkering port and the world’s 3rd largest oil trading center. As such, its exchange is well-placed to offer a host of risk management tools associated with energy prices.

Gold: There is increasing interest in gold trading. With its world-class physical infrastructure, Singapore is well-placed to accommodate this demand. Its innate attributes of neutrality, economic and political stability, excellent connectivity, and reputation as an important financial center have long appealed to global investors and traders. 

Consider joining their circle doing it with HF Markets – a reliable broker that offers some of the best possible conditions for gold trading. One perfect option if you’re looking for diversity in your trading portfolio. Also, it offers traders the tightest spreads with no hidden fees and a very generous bonus for your first account top-up of up to $8000! 

Financial regulators of Singapore

According to what’s written on its official website, The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) was formed in 1971 and today plays a Central Bank role when it comes to controlling and managing exchange rate dynamics. It executes market intervention the same time guaranteeing Singapore’s financial and monetary stability. Also, it is the country’s head financial regulator that establishes guidelines for financial institutions and insurance companies.

Besides, the MAS also acts as the sole regulator for Forex brokers of Singapore. Therefore, these brokers need to be authorized by the MAS and obliged to comply with its strict guidelines before accepting clients.

For the ones who put the security of trading above everything else, there is one bright and shiny option – Plus500. It is one of the most user-friendly CFD trading platforms with advanced features and plenty of risk management tools. The broker offers a wide choice of CFD trade instruments, a trading guide, and all the tools to make trading more effective. 

This information is NOT relevant to EU residents who are to be serviced by EU subsidiaries of the Plus500 Group, such as Plus500CY Ltd, authorized by CySEC (Reg. 250/14). Different regulatory requirements apply in Europe such as leverage limitations and bonus restrictions.

Yet, aside from MAS regulation, another factor that can lead you to the broker, is whether it provides a virtual money-funded demo account! It is a perfect thing for practicing trading, trying out your strategies, and checking out the broker’s trading platform. 

If you’d like that then pay attention to NAGA Markets. However long you’ve been trading and whatever financial market you’re interested in, NAGA has an option for you. As soon as you register, you get a free demo account with a virtual $10000 balance to explore your opportunities in a risk-free environment.

Trading with leverage: Singapore special case

Volatility is a normal condition when it comes to the financial markets, so it isn’t difficult to understand why both new and experienced traders are hoping to profit from these fluctuations since each rise and fall is a chance to make some money.

Some people consider currency trading risky. Originally, this isn’t that true. Unlike shares, most Forex pairs don’t move up or down by much most of the time. Even during market collapses, currency duos are usually unaffected, since their rate fluctuations are always relative to one another. 

What makes Forex trading both risky and potentially lucrative is the concept of leverage. Leverage involves borrowing a certain amount of the money needed to invest in something and to increase a trader’s position. With it, traders hope to make a higher return than they could by using their own capital. Math is simple: if you start trading with $100, a 3% gain will make only a $3 profit. However, by going for a 10x leveraged instrument, you’ll earn $30. 

That’s why it’s lucrative, but also that’s why it is tricky: with leverage, you increase possible trade gains, but if it goes south, your losses will be multiplied as well. 

Why do we talk about it here? In the case of Singapore, MAS obligates most retail traders to keep a minimum margin of 5% for all Forex deals.

For better understanding: if you’d like to open a Forex trading position of $10000, you have to have at least $500 of capital. Yet, you can choose to trade with Forex CFDs, which let you employ the price fluctuations of Forex by going long or short.

However, there is another option available for you. Unlike the EU, where you’re bound by excessive caution measures, in Singapore, you can pick a very fine-reputed broker, that is complaining with another authoritative regulator. For example – again – XM Group, where you can get not only Forex bonus of up to $5000 on your first deposit, but also the leverage of 1:888.

Cryptocurrency trading in Singapore

Is Cryptocurrency trading legal in Singapore? If you want a very short answer – then yes! 

Singapore is well-known for being a strict country in regard to laws and regulations. However, it takes a balanced approach to cryptocurrency and Bitcoin regulations. Their legality has been firmly embedded into a number of pieces of legislation, making cryptocurrency trade, holding, and other activities legal in Singapore.

Also, Singapore was one of the first countries to welcome blockchain and DLT (distributed ledger technology), alongside Switzerland and Estonia. Businesses and individuals who buy cryptocurrency and profit from the rise in the value of their holdings in Singapore do not pay tax on their deals, as there is no such thing as Capital Gains Tax in Singapore.

If you’d like to benefit from that crypto-favorable environment, then go to AvaTrade. While most brokers prefer to avoid cryptocurrencies and others normally offer Bitcoin and Ethereum, AvaTrade goes the extra mile and provides you with the entire range of these digital assets!

In addition to the opposite spectrum presented by such safe-haven assets like bonds and ETFs, Cryptocurrencies offer an opportunity to diversify your portfolio with more volatile assets and higher risk-to-rewards potentials.

TOP Forex brokers of Singapore

Global and regional Forex and CFDs brokers continue to expand their regional footprint in Singapore and are actively working to create their trading infrastructure and provide their users with some of the best possible market conditions. 

Traders looking for an online broker to trade with from Singapore should find one authorized by a reputable regulator, that offers a broad range of trading instruments, a well-equipped trading platform, and also holds a good reputation with clients.

To help you, we have compiled a list of brokers, verified by our team experts, that match all these criteria!

XM Group in Singapore

The broker has been there for more than a decade and offers one of the broadest trading instrument choices with attractive trading conditions, numerous educational materials, and trade incentives. It is suitable for traders of all levels who want to have access to many market sectors and have their broker’s support as they go. And of course, we can’t forget the nicest part – XM Group offers three bonus program types, complementing them with free VPS and zero-fee deposits and withdrawals. You’ll get a 100% automatic entry bonus of up to $5000 on your first deposit.

Plus500 in Singapore

Plus500 is one of the most user-friendly CFD trading platforms with advanced features and plenty of risk management tools. It offers a wide choice of CFD trade instruments, a trading guide, and all the mechanisms to make trading more effective and secure.

If you’re still new to CFDs trading & cautious about possible losses, Plus500 has an option for you too! You can make use out of Plus500’s very detailed trading guide and open a demo account. It will give you a chance to practice, test your trading strategies & gain the necessary experience in real market conditions, being completely risk-free, as you can’t lose real money!

This information is NOT relevant to EU residents who are to be serviced by EU subsidiaries of the Plus500 Group, such as Plus500CY Ltd, authorized by CySEC (Reg. 250/14). Different regulatory requirements apply in Europe such as leverage limitations and bonus restrictions.

AvaTrade in Singapore

AvaTrade is a broker that offers a number of tools, from tech-advanced autotrade terminals to financial risk-management initiatives. In addition to the traditional trading instruments such as Forex, AvaTrade also offers cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ripple, Dash, Litecoin, Bitcoin Gold, and EOS.

HF Markets in Singapore

HF Markets may be a choice for traders who want to become a part of an excellent bonus program and get access to an extensive choice of trading instruments! It is a reliable broker that offers some of the best possible conditions for gold trading. One perfect choice if you’re looking for diversity for your trading portfolio. Also, it offers a very generous trading bonus of up to $5000.

NAGA in Singapore

NAGA would be one of the best options if you’re looking for a broker that can provide you with advanced, but user-friendly trading tools and introduce you to the trading community at the same time. It offers a wide choice of trade instruments and educational bases to make trading more effective and secure. The last point is guaranteed by several reputable regulative bodies, those rules NAGA has to follow. 

Forex Time (FXTM) in Singapore

FXTM is an international online trading broker that provides users with an extensive educational base, investment opportunities, and attractive trading conditions. Moreover, it offers interesting trading tools and features, Copy Trading being the main one.

If you’d like to diversify your portfolio and value all features, mentioned above, equally, then it’s a good thing that actually you don’t have to pick just one broker! Be sure to take full advantage of available demo accounts to test all your trading strategies, and benefit from some of the most generous bonus systems! 

By registering and confirming an account with several of the TOP brokers in Singapore, you can not only personally compare trading platforms to find the most fitting one for yourself, but also maximize the Forex bonuses you receive! It will allow you to conduct more tests of various trading strategies.

You can also manage risk by expanding your approach. For example, you can trade on some brokers on your own, while on others you can use the copy-trading function, which gives you the opportunity to get some passive income.

The choice of a trading strategy is yours, and we present a list of the Top Forex brokers in Singapore, so you can trade online with a reliable partner.