South Africa is not only the worlds next foremost Forex industry, it also provides the perfect platform for growth into Africa, as the opening of Saxo Bank, IG Markets and Markets.coms South African offices attest. The message came through loud and clear at the opening of the South Africa Forex Expo 2012 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 07 December:
The FX industry has been surprisingly slow to identify this opportunity. The inaugural SA Forex Expo, the first expo of its kind in Africa, is changing that. It has attracted 24 of the top names in FX, more than any other FX expo in the world has done this year. The London Investor Show attracted five, China Online Trading Expo secured eight and the MENA Expo in Dubai, widely considered to be the most established business to business trade show of its kind in the world, recently only attracted 23, says Jeni Kostova, event organiser.
With the strict regulation of the Forex industry globally due to the parallals with the online gambling industry, South Africa is presenting a compelling business case for expansion. As a relative newcomer to the global FX market, South Africa isnt without its challenges and still has numerous hurdles to overcome particularly, the peculiarities in its regulatory framework.
South Africa is the largest economy on the continent and according to a 2010 survey found to have the most sophisticated financial market and the second-lowest effective business tax rate out of 14 developing countries surveyed. Even the recent labour disputes in the mining industry making international headlines and causing billions of dollars in lost production are seen as a short-term blip to South Africas growing standing in the global economy, says Kostova.
Top international brokers and service providers as far afield as UK, Israel, Dubai, Cyprus, US, Switzerland including the likes of FXCM, ETX Capital, Hantec Markets and GKFX are taking part in the milestone event. SA Forex Expo is proudly supported by sponsors including MIG Bank, Trader 24 and Spot Options.
