TradeInformer understands that London-listed broker Plus500 is applying for a license to do business in Chile.
The Israeli broker set up a company in the South American nation last year.
Plus500’s CEO – David Zruia – and Elad Even-Chen, the broker’s Chief Financial Officer, are named as directors at the company. Ofir Chudin, who is CEO of the company’s entity in Cyprus, is also listed as a director.
The broker worked with local legal firm Carey Abogados to set up the company and is using the firm to obtain a license from the local regulator – La Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF).
Assuming that ends up happening, the broker would be one of several CFD providers to have entered the market over the last couple of years.
Rival brands XTB and Pepperstone, for example, have both received approval from the CMF and started doing business in Chile.
Brokers do not face severe leverage restrictions from the CMF. For example, XTB offers clients in Chile 500:1 on certain products. You also don’t have the same overly aggressive risk warnings that you now do in the UK and European Union.
Plus500’s global growth
The acquisition of a license in Chile would fit with Plus500’s stated plans of continuing to expand globally.
In its latest half-year results, which were published on Monday morning, the broker noted that it was continuing to look at expansion options, either via the acquisition of other companies or by getting new licenses.
Chile and the wider Latin American region are regulatory blank spots for the broker, which has approvals in basically every major economy globally at this point, including the UK, US, Japan, Australia, Singapore, and India.
Although some brokers, like XM and Exness, have been targeting the region heavily, it’s not clear how much money companies are really making in Latin America.
Having said that, when we spoke to XTB CEO Omar Arnaout last year, he claimed the broker’s Chilean operations could be one of the company’s top 5 branches.
