Plus500 Officially Announces Acquisition of Operating License in Israel

After Finance Magnates first reported about the Israeli Security Authority (ISA) issuing a number of retail trading licenses for Forex brokerages, Plus500 has officially made an announcement about its milestone. The Israeli operating subsidiary of the brokerage Plus500IL Ltd has been granted a license after a very lengthy period awaiting the decision of the regulator.

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Commenting on the announcement, Asaf Elimelech, Chief Executive of Plus500, said: "We are delighted to be amongst the first companies to be awarded a CFD trading licence in Israel. We believe that Israel is an attractive market given its well developed and regulated financial markets."

As Finance Magnates reported, a total of five companies have received the lucrative Trading Arena Licence, which the ISA has tailored for retail products. The other firms are ATRADE, FXCM Israel, REAL FOREX and FIRST INDEX.

In the meantime, the value of the company's shares has materially declined in the aftermath of the announcement by the founders of Plus500 Ltd that they are about to sale a big chunk of their holdings to institutional investors in a placement.

Following the news, shares of Plus500 have tanked about 14 per cent in yesterday's trading. The founders of the online brokerage have unloaded up to 13% of the company's float onto the market, so the decline in the value of Plus500 shares is consistent with the amount of shares being offered.