Increasing numbers of  Forex  Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. Read this Term 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  Trading Platform In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. Read this Term.

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.