Getco this week decided to close its Hong Kong office, abandoning one small outpost for the US automated-trading firm in a region that has been slower to accommodate high-speed trading strategies that have been widely adopted in US securities and derivatives markets.

Chicago-based Getco is a specialist in high-frequency market-making, and opened the Hong Kong office in 2011, adding another in Mumbai last year to join the 40-strong team in Singapore that has spearheaded its Asian operation.