Royal Forex to
upgrade to a financial company

Change enables it to tap

into micro lending and investment funds

Royal Forex Trading has changed its name to Royal Financials as part of a move to upgrade its license from a financial brokerage firm into a financial company.

This change will enable the company to tap into the micro-loan industry and to add new financial products like investment funds, said CEO Rayan El Annan.

Royal Financials, which currently operates an electronic trading platform (ETP), is already licensed to conduct advisory and discretionary trading as a brokerage firm.

“We are going to add investment products that typically involve raising money directly from investors and then invest it in financial markets to generate a return higher than the one investors get from banks,” Annan said.

He also said they are looking to create a real estate fund and other funds such as foreign exchange (Forex) funds and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF).

The company completed a feasibility study and a business plan and is submitting an application to the Banking Control Commission to upgrade its license. It has appointed Zeina Zeidan as Chairperson and two new board members as part of the transition to a financial institution.

Royal, which has a workforce of 65 employees, has already gone through a restructuring process and invested over $17 million to develop its operations, human resources, and IT infrastructure.

The company recently concluded an agreement with Saxo Bank that enables it to offer its customers access to many markets. This deal is the first of its kind in Lebanon, Annan said.

He said that the company will be moving within nine months to bigger headquarters in the Beirut Central District.