LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned that CySEC regulated institutional FX firm PositivaFX (CY) Ltd is making preparations to launch a separate Retail Forex brokerage operation.
George Stylianou, PositivaFX
PositivaFX, based in Limassol, Cyprus and founded in 2014 by CEO George Stylianou (pictured at right) and COO Kaiming Liu, has grown into a fairly successful institutional FX shop, serving mainly small to medium sized regulated and offshore brokers. Other than providing liquidity, PositivaFX provides consulting and technology services through its sister company PositivaMST on all aspects of starting and running a Forex and CFD brokerage, a service which often gets them in the door to provide the longer term and more lucrative liquidity services.
Stylianou and Liu actually met when both worked at Easy Forex (now easyMarkets) earlier this decade. They hooked up again at FXTM about five years later (with Stylianou arriving at FXTM via Alpari), Stylianou acting as CMO and Liu as VP of Asia. They left FXTM together and founded founded The Positiva Group of Companies in late 2014 with the backing of Asian investors.
We understand that the company is preparing to submit documentation to CySEC to request an upgrade in its license from STP to market maker, as well as an approval of an updated business plan for Retail, to facilitate the move to add Retail brokerage. Depending on approval time (and any other unforeseen factors), we believe that PositivaFX will open for business for retail clients in late Q2 / early Q3.
PositivaFX is being backed in this latest phase of its development by its aforementioned Asian investors, who have agreed to invest more money to backstop the move to retail after being pleased with the company’s initial foray into institutional FX.