BNP Paribas and HSBC plan to start trading onshore Thai baht foreign exchange options before year end. "We'll have an onshore options book by the end of the year," said Panop Svetarundra, fx sales at BNP in Bangkok. More exporters in Thailand are looking at options as an alternative to forward transactions and liquidity is increasing, added Svetarundra, explaining the move. Officials at HSBC also said they aim to have an options book and systems in place before year end and will focus on client flows. Both firms currently offer onshore spot and forward transactions.
Citibank, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan and Standard Chartered Bank already have onshore fx options books, according to traders at the firms. "Customer interest for onshore options is continuing to grow," said a foreign exchange head in Singapore.
