One of the companies that are bucking the industry consolidation trend in Cyprus is OctaFX. The firm recently announced the acquisition of a brand new license from the CySEC and is firmly committed to expanding its business in Europe.
George Pantzis, CEO of OctaFX
Finance Magnates spoke with the CEO of the company, George Pantzis, about the state of the industry and the plans of OctaFX for the coming quarters. Pantzis is very upbeat and shared with Finance Magnates that the company’s move to get licensed by the regulatory authority is in line with the firm’s transparency commitment.
“The CySEC is a great EU regulator and it has a great professional reputation across the world. Given the uncertainty of the Brexit situation, we didn’t consider the FCA as a sufficient option at this point. Yet we monitor the situation,” Pantzis elaborated.
Competition Was Tighter 10 Years Ago
With the main focus of the company in the APAC region so far, it is now looking to solidify its presence in Europe at a critical time. Pantzis thinks that the market still shows potential.
“Competition was much tighter ten years ago than it is now. Big players with reputation and regulation survive, small offshore ones go up in smoke,” the CEO of OctaFX shared.
The company is aiming to leverage transparency, fairness, client-orientation, reliability, and exceptional trading conditions to stand out. Pantzis thinks that the clients of the firm are themselves voting for the company, by choosing its services over competitors.
While the new regulatory environment under ESMA has been a challenge for the industry, the CEO of OctaFX thinks that the new regulatory framework is reasonable. “We understand where the restrictions come from, and why they were implemented. Investors do require more awareness and less exposure to the risks involved in trading,” Pantzis elaborated.
Onshore vs. Offshore
Adding to the debate on the offshore against onshore operations, Pantzis shared that the industry and businesses overall are being directed to become less involved with offshore dealings. Despite the sharp increase in the number of offshore brokers and subsidiaries in recent quarters, he thinks the market will be getting less offshore-oriented.
The policies of VISA and MasterCard are in line with the trend mentioned above, and brokers will have to be regulated/licensed in every market of their presence according to Pantzis.
“It should be realized that the licensing does not happen overnight. It's a complex procedure, and it may take several years and a lot of resources to carry through. Companies that will not be able to bear that will not survive,” the CEO of OctaFX concluded.
