Interest from regional investors in currency and commodity trading stronger than ever

Dubai, 20th November 2012:  Alpari ME DMCC, a leading global Forex broker and part of Alpari Group Limited, has revealed that as an industry, forex and commodity trading in the Middle East is at an all-time high. As sophistication and awareness among investors continues to increase, globally, retail forex trading volumes have doubled that of trading volumes on the New York Stock Exchange. Speaking at Arabcom's 10th MENA Forex, Managed Funds & Investment Opportunities conference in Dubai on the 15th November, Gaurav Kashyap, Head of DGCX desk at Alpari ME DMCC gave a talk titled 'The evolution of FX in the Middle East'.

Alpari was the main event partner, leading the debate on the industry with a host of other major figures in the region. The event was attended by investors, traders, private bankers, investment banks, Hedge funds, Forex Brokers, advisors and money managers to engage with each other and discuss the best available investment opportunities and investor needs. Discussions took place on the economy, regulatory reforms, investor opportunities and investor needs at a forum attended by more than 1000 delegates from across the region.

Gaurav Kashyap, Head of DGCX desk at Alpari ME DMCC, commented, "The UAE is known as a regional and global hub for business and as we have seen from attendance at the Arabcom event, this is no different for our industry. As a company, we are proud to have been the main event sponsor and engage with investors and peers alike. Beyond opportunities to trade on the fluctuations and potential increase in the price of oil, forex traders are increasingly aware of opportunities to 'long' and 'short' investments, much more easily than the stock markets, provided they have solid understanding of market forecasts and trends.  Investors can profit from futures, oil or currencies and as a company we ensure that our clients are as informed as they can be before investing in a currency or commodity."

Iskandar Najjar, CEO of Alpari ME DMCC, said, "Since 1996, when retail foreign exchange trading first took off, several brokers, who initially lacked the sufficient tools for investment, developed their own trading platforms tailored specifically to their needs. Nowadays, in a relatively short space of time, the industry has been revolutionised. Advanced trading platforms have started to emerge and become more accessible to retail traders through very simple and intuitive trading mechanisms. Trends have shown increases in both the number of traders and the volume of traders in the MENA region. Education as a whole has improved significantly, through a greater number of forums and news sites focused on teaching investors, and this can only be positive for the industry as a whole."

Alpari ME DMCC was awarded full broker membership by the DGCX, offering its clients a wider range of tradable assets including currency and commodity futures. In 2011 alone, the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange registered record growth of 110% year on year, of which currency contracts accounted for 88% of total contracts, valued at $185.13 billion. Alpari ME DMCC is the first broker to offer Meta Trader 5 (MT5), the leading brokerage service provider on the DGCX, allowing clients to seamlessly communicate with commodity future exchanges.

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About Alpari ME DMCC
Alpari ME DMCC, based in Dubai, is part of the association of Alpari companies. The company offers support for individuals and institutions seeking to trade in Forex or commodities across any of the Alpari group of companies' platforms and exchanges.

About the association of Alpari companies
With a history dating back to 1998, the association of Alpari companies are among the world's fastest growing providers of online Forex trading services. Alpari provides cutting edge technology, low-cost trading, comprehensive market research tools, advanced educational programmes and world-class customer service. Alpari have more than 50 offices in cities in over 20 countries, including London, New York, Shanghai, Dubai, Moscow, Mumbai and Frankfurt. Combined, they look after over 200,000 active trading accounts, generating monthly trading volumes in excess of $210 billion, and employ over 630 people worldwide.*

*All figures May 2011

Media contact
Campbell Hood
Capital MSL
Tel: +971 4 427 6449
Email: campbell.hood@capitalmsl.com

Maram Alkadhi
Capital MSL
Tel: +971 4 367 6160
Email: maram.alkadhi@capitalmsl.com

Tony Philip
Alpari ME DMCC, part of the Alpari group of companies
Email: tphilip@alpari.ae

© Press Release 2012