Capital.com has been granted a Capital Markets Services licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), giving the online trading group its first regulated business in Southeast Asia, the company said on Monday.
The licence was awarded to Capital Com Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Capital.com said it covers dealing in capital markets products, including securities and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives contracts.
The MAS Financial Institutions Directory lists the entity as authorised to deal in securities, collective investment schemes and OTC derivatives contracts. It names Lim Ean Hien Tony as chief executive and gives an address at 9 Battery Road.
Capital.com was founded in 2016. It says it already holds licences in jurisdictions including the UK, the EU, the Middle East, Africa and Australia.
Former IG Asia chief to lead Singapore unit
Tony Lim joins as chief executive officer and executive director of the Singapore entity.
Capital.com said Lim has more than 30 years of experience in Singapore’s capital markets. His roles include the Singapore International Monetary Exchange (SIMEX), Singapore Exchange, DBS Vickers Securities and Saxo Capital Markets, and most recently chief executive of IG Asia.
Finance Magnates reported that Lim spent nine years at IG’s Singapore arm. Hiring a former IG executive brings Capital.com local experience from one of the more established CFD brokers in the city-state.
“Our focus over the coming months is on getting the foundations right, from onboarding and client protections to the education and market insight that help people understand risk before they act,” Lim said in the statement.
Valentina Rzheutskaya, executive director at Capital.com, said the MAS process “examines every part of a firm’s governance, controls and capital”.
“Holding a licence here means operating to that standard locally, with supervision of how we onboard clients, communicate risk and safeguard client assets,” she said.
Client onboarding set for early 2027
Capital.com will not take Singapore clients straight away. It said onboarding is scheduled for early 2027, while the local team prepares the platform and services to meet regulatory and operational requirements.
Those requirements include identity checks through Singpass MyInfo, full client verification before trading and mandatory two-factor authentication at sign-in.
The company has opened an office in Raffles Place. It said local staff will cover compliance, operations, client services and marketing.
When onboarding opens, Singapore clients will have the same decision-support tools as the wider Capital.com platform, including market analysis, in-app explainers, charting and risk controls such as stop-loss orders. The group said further details on the Singapore platform will be shared ahead of launch.
Capital.com will join a competitive local market. For readers weighing their options in the meantime, Invezz tracks the CFD brokers licensed to serve Singapore clients and the wider set of trading platforms already available in Singapore .
Reports of a custody licence unconfirmed
Some media reports, including Reuters and DealStreetAsia, said the licence also covers custodial services.
Neither Capital.com’s announcement nor the MAS register entry, as reviewed on Monday, lists custody among the entity’s regulated activities. Both refer to dealing in capital markets products only.
Singapore’s licensing regime has been tightened in recent years, particularly for leveraged products and digital assets. Winning a licence there is often seen as a signal of a firm’s compliance standing in the wider region.
Capital.com said it will take part in the Singapore FinTech Festival from November 18 to 20. Its launch timetable and the scope of products offered to local clients will be the next details to watch.
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