Key Insights
- Capital.com has secured a Category 1 license offer online trading services to professional investors in the UAE
- The London-based broker is ramping up its Middle Eastern operations under new leadership
- Capital.com has appointed former IG Group executive Tarik Chebib to spearhead its MENA operations from Dubai.
DUBAI (MarketsXplora) – Online trading firm Capital.com has obtained a Category 1 license from the United Arab Emirates’ Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), underscoring the London-headquartered broker’s push to expand its Middle Eastern operations.
The licensing approval comes as Capital.com ramps up hiring and operations in Dubai, where it recently moved into larger office premises at the prestigious Emirates Towers, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The UAE entry marks a strategic shift for Capital.com under its new leadership. After bringing in former IG Group CEO Peter Hetherington to lead the firm in mid-2022 with an initial focus on the UK and European markets, Hetherington departed last year.
He was replaced by Kypros Zoumidou, another former IG executive, in a move that signaled Capital.com’s intent to pursue growth opportunities elsewhere, the source said.
Last month, MarketsXplora reported Capital.com had quietly stopped onboarding new clients in Britain as it set its sights abroad, with the Middle East and Asia now appearing to be priority markets.
Capital.com’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) operations are spearheaded by Tarik Chebib, a fellow IG alumnus who joined the online broker in 2021 as Group Chief Revenue Officer before being appointed CEO for the Middle East following Hetherington’s hiring.
The SCA’s Category 1 license allows Capital.com to offer its online trading services for securities, derivatives and commodities to professional investors across the UAE.
Capital.com operates regulated subsidiaries for online trading and brokerage businesses in the UK, Australia and Cyprus, in addition to its new UAE outpost. The firm and its sister brand Currency.com are controlled by Victor Prokopenya, a London-based Belarusian lawyer and computer scientist.
A Capital.com spokesperson declined to comment on the UAE licensing approval or the company’s regional growth plans.
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