Increasing numbers of forex and CFDs brokers are launching in the Middle East. Finance Magnates had a quick chat with Ali Hassan, VP of business development at the newly-launched FX and CFDs brand Q8Trade, to figure out why they opted to establish their operations in a relatively emerging market, to discuss their expansion into the Gulf states and the MENA region overall and when potentially the firm could move into the more developed Eastern markets.

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Q8 Trade is a brand owned and operated by Q8, a privately held securities company regulated by the Central Markets Authority (CMA), the Kuwaiti financial watchdog. Its license allows it to provide online brokerage services for CFD and forex trading.

As a Kuwait-based broker, its website is available in both English and Arabic, and it has customer service offices in Kuwait and Cyprus.

Founded in 1985, Q8 Securities was originally established as Al-Arabi before it rebranded earlier this year. The transformation and launch of the new FX brokerage business was aimed at delivering off-market, bespoke solutions for retail clients in the region.

The new business, which will initially focus on Kuwait but is intended to subsequently expand into other Arab countries, seems keen to create a niche for itself as one of the region’s pioneering financial service providers. Most notably, Q8 Trade has joined the growing list of mainstream retail brokers that offer cryptocurrency trading, with the company already offering bitcoin pairings through its trading platform.

This could be an attempt to capture a larger market share as none of the established firms in the region have tried to build a native community around a dedicated cryptocurrency offering.

UAE and Saudi Arabia in Focus

Traditionally a difficult market to break into, Q8 Trade builds on its parent’s extensive experience to understand the region’s client base and trading styles, and is able to cater to the more complex requirements of many Islamic clients.

With a booming economy and massive levels of inward investment and migration, Kuwait looks an increasingly attractive investment opportunity, particularly with current uncertainty in the MENA markets. However, expanding into more developed markets within the Gulf area, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will be a complex process with many potential pitfalls, as getting ‘straight’ regulatory approvals to operate a forex retail brand is extremely difficult.

Commenting on this, Ali Hassan, VP Business Development at Q8Trade, said: “Without a doubt, the Q8Trade brand will be a game-changer for the forex and CFDs industry in the Middle East. This new brand is the result of hard team work, the latest technology and decades of experience in the capital markets. Our main goal is to open the trading market in a simple and friendly way.”

He continued: “Q8 Trade comes to prove to traders that forex is not all about the bad reputation it has, with Q8Trade people can be sure that they will be part of a regulated and transparent system. Our office doors in Kuwait city are open for any trader who can visit us and get all the information he is looking for, and our future plan is to have more local offices in the Arab region in order to offer the best and fastest, trusted service.”

“We believe that a successful broker should invest in his clients and avoid conflicts of interests, therefore our financial experts and experienced brokers never stop researching, analysing and strategizing to provide the best educational resources and tools to help traders from different backgrounds and experience levels to pick the best opportunities and achieve their financial ambitions,” concluded Hassan.