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 EightCap (licensee: EIGHTCAP PTY LTD) as planned according to its regulatory address that Level 35, Rialto South Tower, 525 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

The survey personnel came to the destination at 525 Collins Street, Melbourne on February 13, 2023, where the Rialto Towers is situated. As one of the largest office buildings in Melbournes CBD, the commercial office complex comprises two connected office towers with good access to transport and other convenient key amenities. In addition, the building is surrounded by a clean environment and busy streets.

After entering the building, the investigators found from company directory in the lobby that EightCap was on the 35th floor. However, people weren‘t allowed to go to upstairs by elevator for a visit without communicating with the company’s staff and at the same time being accompanied by them. According to the receptionist working here, EightCap was running business in the building.

Therefore, it is confirmed that the broker has a physical presence here.

Conclusion

The investigators went to Australia to visit forex broker EightCap as scheduled, and spotted 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.