XTB to start South Africa operations in second half, says Middle East is priority
Warsaw-based FX brokerage, XTB plans to kick off its operations in South Africa in the second half of the year, Polish financial and business website Bankier.pl reported.
Earlier in August, XTB acquired an FSCA license in South Africa and is now authorized as a Financial Service Provider locally. Registration with the regulatory body allows ‘XTB Africa (Pty) Ltd’ to operate as a financial service provider in the country, which the company cited as an important region for strategic expansion.
XTB’s subsidiary in South Africa has been in the licensing process for more than two years. The license allows XTB to provide its range of FX and CFDs products to retail and professional clients not only from the South Africa but also to expand the offering to other African countries.
Nevertheless, Paweł Szejko, XTB’s CFO and member of the management board, said in a press conference that the group’s priority is to develop its presence in the Middle East.
“The Middle East is our priority at the moment, which means that we devote a lot of effort and resources to the development of this market. This means that we will have to wait a while for South Africa. We will probably return to the subject of South Africa, but it will not be sooner than in the second half of this year, and maybe a little later, “said Sheikh.
Called ‘XTB MENA Limited,’ the new subsidiary secured a license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) after it incorporated its new office in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) in January.
XTB MENA will provide traders from the region with over 1900 instruments, available through its proprietary trading platform, xStation, and popular MetaTrader.
The Dubai license allows XTB to provide its range of FX and CFDs products to retail and professional clients not only in the UAE but also to expand the offering to the other GCC states, meaning Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and North Africa.
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is a federal area that is financially-free, completely separated from the rest of the country and features its own legal system and courts.
The DFSA has been receiving increased interest from authorized firms and global brokers to offer FX trading to retail customers in or from the DIFC.
