Fund-rich online brokerage thinks big

Wu Tianhua, chief executive of Tiger Brokers delivers a speech at the Rise 2017 conference on July 11, 2017 in Hong Kong. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Startup Tiger Brokers, an online stock brokerage, has said it will use its latest round of financing to bolster its technical strength and products.

Speaking at the Rise 2017 conference in Hong Kong, its CEO Wu Tianhua said the new investors are guiding Tiger Brokers on content, internationalization and functional autonomy.

The firm will host a global investment forum in the next two to three months. The next round of fundraising will probably be within the next 12 months, he said.

Founded in June 2014, Tiger Brokers has so far received over $400 million in funding from more than 20 strategic investors such as Xiaomi, Zhenfund, China Growth Capital and celebrated Wall Street investment guru Jim Rogers (who is betting big on China's financial technology or fintech sector).

Wu said Tiger's younger investors in US stocks favor the TMT (technology, media and telecommunications) sector and are willing to take risks in their global asset allocations.

Emerging new-age tech companies seek to list in the US, suggesting a fresh bull run may be in the making there.

However, in China, investment allocations in the Chinese mainland are still relatively niche. But the situation will improve with growth in the local TMT sector, Wu said.

Online brokerages such as Tiger use technology to tackle challenges relating to cross-border stock trading, account opening and language.

Currently, online trading in US stocks accounts for a major part compared to trading in Hong Kong stocks and the A shares, he said.