Plus500 has been awarded a license to operate in the United Arab Emirates, a market with the potential for rapid expansion.
The financial technology company, which provides individual investors with services such as futures trading and contracts for difference, informed investors that the Dubai Financial Services Authority license will allow it to immediately begin operations in the country.
The United Arab Emirates is the 12th country to licence the London-based corporation, and the fifth in three years.
Plus500 shares climbed 3.3% to £19.58 in Monday morning trading, making them the top gainer on the FTSE 350. Their value has increased by more than double in the past three years.
Plus500 started in Estonia, Seychelles, and Japan after acquiring EZ Invest Securities in 2020. Plus500 expanded into the United States by acquiring options and futures firm Cunningham.
The group’s entrance into new areas followed a surge in trade activity on its platform. With volumes growing quickly during the first Covid shutdown in the United Kingdom.
In a year-end trading update published this month, the company reported a 16 percent increase in revenue to approximately $832 million in 2022, primarily due to gains in client trading positions.
Active subscriber counts continued to decline sharply from their lockdown-era peak, in part due to the impact of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar during the fourth quarter.
Plus500’s UAE licence boosts shares.
Nevertheless, the Israeli company’s yearly revenue and underlying core profitability exceeded analyst projections. With the latter increasing by 17% to approximately $454 million.
“We are happy to have acquired licence approval from the DFSA in the UAE,” said Plus 500 CEO David Zruia. And we are eager to provide our market-leading technical capabilities to consumers in the region.
This is the most recent implementation of our plan to penetrate new markets, develop new products, and strengthen customer relationships.
Since 2020, the group has successfully acquired licenses in the United States, Japan, Estonia, Seychelles, and the United Arab Emirates, including via acquisitions.
As a result, Plus500 possesses a valuable and expanding portfolio of twelve licenses. Ensuring that our expanding business will continue to be founded on a solid regulatory foundation.
Plus500, which was founded in 2008 by Technion – Israel Institute of Technology alumni, allows ordinary investors to trade stocks, commodities, and more complicated financial products such as contracts for difference.
A CFD is a contract between an investor and a broker to exchange the price difference of an asset, such as a stock, bond, or currency, between the beginning and end dates of a contract.
Analysts consider them riskier due to the possibility of incurring substantial losses.
