Portware Opens Hong Kong Office

As overseas markets heat up, Portware announced it will open a Hong Kong office to support expansion in the Asia-pacific region and has appointed Damian Bierman head of Asian operations.Bierman will oversee the day-to-day operations for the office, with a particular focus on implementation management and support for the trading systems provider. The Hong Kong office will be staffed with regional specialists and project managers from Portware's U.S. headquarters.

"Portware has supported clients in Hong Kong for more than five years," says Bierman. "However, by establishing our presence locally we are putting ourselves in an unequivocally better position to meet our clients needs with a presence on the ground that understands not only the challenges of trading in the Asian markets, but also the technical know-how to fully leverage the Portware platform."

More specifically, Bierman says he will be working to set up technical support and account management resources, as well as tight communication channels to other global offices and a high standard of implementation support in the region.

"The Asian-Pacific markets, we believe, are poised for considerable growth in the short term in the adoption of electronic trading," adds Bierman. "An important piece of our strategy is to gain traction by leveraging Portware's flexibility to satisfy the varied intricacies of these markets, as well as packaging it in such a way so as to make the process as repeatable and streamlined as possible."

Looking forward, Bierman says Portware is taking a calculated approach to growth in the region. "We're being selective with the new business we're taking on in this early stage and are putting a plan in place to grow it sensibly and steadily as time goes on," he explains. "Local technical resources and global communication are two of the most important keys to our success in this regard, and part of my role is establishing and solidifying those channels."

Previously, Bierman was head of FIX Product Services at NYFIX in Hong Kong. "I understand many of the challenges that come with providing localized solutions and support to a global client base," he says.