Base Markets is our number-one pick and the recommended broker on Best Trading Signal — and we would rather explain that ranking than let you infer the wrong reason for it. It is rank 1 because opening an account through our link and depositing $400 (roughly HK$3,120) unlocks our complete trading signals service free. That is a commercial reason. On regulation it is the weakest of the five brokers we cover: it is licensed by the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius (Licence GB25204723) and holds no licence from Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), so a Hong Kong resident opening an account here is a client of a Mauritian entity with no SFC supervision, no SFC complaint route and no access to Hong Kong's Investor Compensation Fund. What you get in exchange is a clear, low-cost broker focused on the essentials — forex, gold, indices and crypto CFDs — on the full MetaTrader 5 platform, with deposits from $0 and spreads from 0.0 pips, plus the same feed of forex signals, gold, oil, indices and crypto calls our paying subscribers receive, each with a defined entry, take-profit and stop-loss, replacing a subscription worth roughly $2,500 a year (around HK$19,500). If a locally regulated counterparty matters more to you than a free feed, read best trading brokers Hong Kong first and take the signals through our Telegram bot instead. Then see how to start and our published track record.
Regulation and safety — what a Mauritian licence does and does not give you
Base Markets operates under the supervision of the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius (FSC) under Licence GB25204723, a regulator that oversees trading firms and imposes requirements on client-fund segregation and know-your-customer (KYC) procedures. That is a real licence, and it is worth more than no licence at all.
Be clear-eyed about what it means from a Hong Kong perspective. In Hong Kong, dealing in securities and leveraged foreign exchange trading are licensed activities supervised by the SFC, which publishes every licensed corporation and its CE number on a public register. Base Markets does not appear there. As a Hong Kong resident you would be a client of the Mauritian entity: no SFC supervision of the firm's conduct, no SFC complaint route, no Investor Compensation Fund coverage, and no FSCS-style compensation scheme of any kind. Regulation of any kind reduces operational risk but never removes market risk — start with a demo account and an amount you can afford to lose.
Base Markets publishes no retail-loss percentage, because Mauritius does not mandate one. Read that as a gap in the disclosure regime, not as evidence that its clients lose less money than the roughly four-in-five who lose at brokers that are required to publish.
Accounts and costs
The standout feature of Base Markets is its low cost: an initial deposit starting from $0 and spreads from 0.0 pips make the cost of entry and of trading among the lowest in its class.
That combination — practically no deposit minimum plus tight spreads — is what makes it a fit for anyone starting with a small amount of capital who wants to test the market for real without taking on a large commitment. Confirm the funding currency, conversion rate and settlement route for a Hong Kong bank transfer or card in writing before you send anything, since we did not find HKD-specific local rails named on the broker's own pages.
Platform and execution
Base Markets runs exclusively on MetaTrader 5 (MT5), the most advanced retail platform in general use: advanced charting, pending orders, automated trading via Expert Advisors, and multi-asset support. There is no MT4 — of the five brokers we cover, Base Markets is the only one without it, while all five support MT5.
MT5 is available on web, desktop and mobile apps (iOS and Android), so you can follow your positions — and our signals — through the London session in the Hong Kong evening and the New York session overnight.
Free trading signals with a $400 deposit
This is the exclusive part of the deal for Best Trading Signal readers in Hong Kong: open your account through the button on this page, deposit $400 (roughly HK$3,120) and activate the account, then contact us to switch on your free signals subscription. The $400 is not a fee — it stays in your account as your own trading capital.
The signals cover gold (XAUUSD), forex majors, oil, indices and crypto, each delivered on Telegram with an entry price, take-profit and stop-loss. Our track record — 94% average weekly accuracy by points and +159,336 net points over 30 published weeks — is documented on the performance page.
If you prefer not to open an offshore broker account, the same service is available as a paid subscription through our Telegram bot, and every signal executes identically at an SFC-licensed firm — the signals page compares both paths.
Swap-free accounts
Swap-free account options (no overnight interest) are available for clients who need them — request the option when you register and confirm its terms before funding.
This matters mainly if you hold gold or forex positions overnight and want to avoid the financing charge; check how the account type affects your other trading conditions before committing.