The Dubai Financial Services Authority (or DFSA) recently granted Pepperstone a license to operate in Dubai, which would let the broker provide its financial products to United Arab Emirates residents as well as to the residents of other Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
Tarik Chebib, the head of the Middle East Pepperstone Branch, explained that the broker has been thinking about expanding its footprint in the middle east for years, and the fact that the Dubai International Financial Centre was recently ranked as the 8th best financial center of the world made acquiring this license a goal of the middle east branch.
Though the Middle East doesn't pose a significant opportunity in terms of expanding the broker's Forex business, it is an opportunity in terms of offering products more focused on trading asset price fluctuations, especially commodities like Gold and Oil.
"We’re looking for clients who are interested in trading on the price fluctuations in Forex, Commodities, Indices or Shares," commented Chebib when asked about which kind of clients will Pepperstone target in the Middle East,
The DFSA is famous for having very strict guidelines in terms of obtaining Forex licenses. One of the most prominent restrictions is that it's not allowed to make transactions in the local currency,.
At the moment, Pepperstone is not thinking about expanding to other jurisdictions in the Middle East, like Saudi Arabia, though it may reconsider its position in the future. In any case, the move is enabling this broker to cement its position in the Middle East, whose markets are now being dominated by other global brokers.
"Thanks to our presence in Dubai, Pepperstone can establish even closer ties with our clients in the Middle East," said the Group CEO of Pepperstone, "The launch of our new office is a significant growth opportunity and we're excited about Pepperstone's future in the region," he added.
Pepperstone operates from Dubai through its local subsidiary Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Limited. The branch incorporated into the Dubai International Financial Centre in September 2019 and had been waiting for the DFSA license since then.