Key Takeaways
- • IMC Trading plans to roughly double its Hong Kong workforce over the next two years, from 44 employees, establishing the city as its regional hub for systematic equities trading, according to Bloomberg.
- • The Amsterdam-based market maker has nearly tenfold increased its Hong Kong headcount since early 2025 and has already secured approximately 10 additional hires, including senior ETF traders and options researchers.
- • Andrew Fong, a former Citadel and Citadel Securities executive who joined as managing director of IMC's Hong Kong operations in 2025, is leading the expansion.
- • The move reverses IMC's prior concentration of regional operations in Sydney, where it maintains about 400 employees, and reflects competition with Jane Street (almost 600 Asia Pacific staff) and Citadel Securities (nearly 100 regional additions this year).
Summary
Quantitative trading firm IMC Trading plans to roughly double its Hong Kong workforce over the next two years as it establishes the city as its regional hub for systematic equities trading, according to a report by Bloomberg. The Amsterdam-based market maker currently employs 44 people in Hong Kong, having increased its local headcount nearly tenfold since early 2025. The expansion will support systematic equities, options, exchange-traded funds and futures trading, alongside investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities.
The growth strategy is led by Andrew Fong, a former Citadel and Citadel Securities executive who joined as managing director of IMC's Hong Kong operations in 2025. The firm has already secured approximately 10 additional hires, including senior ETF traders and options researchers, while relocating several senior investment and engineering executives from Sydney. Davis Cochrane and Jack Kennedy, co-heads of Asia-Pacific systematic equities trading and research, respectively, are moving to Hong Kong, as is Max Jacenko, who leads software engineering for the regional delta-one business. Recent external appointments include former Qube Research & Technologies commodities trader Lawrence Lu and former XTX Markets Asia-Pacific compliance head Kelly Sze.
The expansion marks a significant return to Hong Kong for IMC, which previously concentrated its regional operations in Sydney, where it maintains approximately 400 employees. The firm sees growing opportunities across Asian equity and derivatives markets, supported by increased trading activity and a recovering IPO market.
IMC is entering a competitive field. Rival quantitative trading firms Jane Street and Citadel Securities are also expanding their Asian operations. Jane Street now employs almost 600 people across Asia Pacific, while Citadel Securities has added nearly 100 regional employees this year, intensifying competition for quantitative researchers, traders and technology specialists. IMC is also recruiting across machine learning engineering, high-frequency commodity futures research, institutional sales and quantitative trading as it broadens its presence in the region.
The growth strategy is led by Andrew Fong, a former Citadel and Citadel Securities executive who joined as managing director of IMC's Hong Kong operations in 2025. The firm has already secured approximately 10 additional hires, including senior ETF traders and options researchers, while relocating several senior investment and engineering executives from Sydney. Davis Cochrane and Jack Kennedy, co-heads of Asia-Pacific systematic equities trading and research, respectively, are moving to Hong Kong, as is Max Jacenko, who leads software engineering for the regional delta-one business. Recent external appointments include former Qube Research & Technologies commodities trader Lawrence Lu and former XTX Markets Asia-Pacific compliance head Kelly Sze.
The expansion marks a significant return to Hong Kong for IMC, which previously concentrated its regional operations in Sydney, where it maintains approximately 400 employees. The firm sees growing opportunities across Asian equity and derivatives markets, supported by increased trading activity and a recovering IPO market.
IMC is entering a competitive field. Rival quantitative trading firms Jane Street and Citadel Securities are also expanding their Asian operations. Jane Street now employs almost 600 people across Asia Pacific, while Citadel Securities has added nearly 100 regional employees this year, intensifying competition for quantitative researchers, traders and technology specialists. IMC is also recruiting across machine learning engineering, high-frequency commodity futures research, institutional sales and quantitative trading as it broadens its presence in the region.
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