XTB Sells South African Subsidiary After Eight Fruitless Years

XTB sells its South African subsidiary for $645,000 after eight years of failed expansion and zero client operations.

Key Points: 

• XTB sells its dormant South African subsidiary for $645,000 after eight years of failed expansion, having never served a single client despite holding a valid FSCA license since 2021.
• XTB‘s head of legal affairs, Jakub Kubacki, resigns after 16 years at the company, with his departure effective June 30, 2026, and no replacement named yet.

Polish retail broker XTB has agreed to sell its South African subsidiary, XTB Africa PTY Ltd., for $645,000, drawing quite close to an eight-year expansion effort that never served a single client.

The company disclosed the deal in its 2025 annual report, filed this week. XTB signed a conditional sale agreement on February 17, 2026, transferring 100% of the subsidiary to an unnamed buyer. South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) must still approve the ownership change before the transaction closes.

XTB Sells South African Subsidiary After Eight Fruitless Years

XTB established its South African entity in 2018 but waited more than two years before the FSCA granted an operating license in August 2021. In early 2022, the company publicly committed to launching forex trading operations there in the second half of that year. That deadline passed without action, and XTB made no further public statements about the market.

The annual report attributes the sale to the subsidiary “not commencing operational activities,” offering no further detail. CEO Omar Arnaout’s shareholder letter discusses Brazil, Indonesia, Chile, and the UAE but makes no mention of Africa.

XTB carried the subsidiary on its books at PLN 2.34 million as of December 31, 2025 — roughly equal to the $645,000 sale price. The company effectively recovers only its paper value after absorbing years of incorporation costs, legal fees, and license maintenance.

A Pattern of Retreats

South Africa fits a broader pattern. XTB began liquidating its Turkish subsidiary in September 2020, following regulatory changes that collapsed that country’s leveraged trading market. More than five years later, the Turkish entity still appears in the annual report as undergoing liquidation.

In Brazil, XTB suspended new account registrations after ending a local partnership. The 2025 annual report reveals the company now weighs all options for that market, including a full exit, citing “local protectionism.” Arnaout stated the company is “focusing instead on growing our client base in Chile, while closely monitoring the long-term potential of the Latin American region.”

The numbers tell the story clearly. XTB posted record total operating income of PLN 2.15 billion in 2025, almost entirely from European clients and a growing Middle East business. Latin America and Asia together contributed only PLN 33 million — roughly 1.5% of total revenues.

Indonesia remains under close watch. XTB injected additional capital there in July 2025, but Arnaout has publicly described it as “a country with a question mark” that must meet clear performance benchmarks.

Legal Head Exits After 16 Years

XTB also disclosed that Jakub Kubacki, its head of legal affairs and a board member since 2018, submitted his resignation on March 3, 2026, citing personal reasons. His departure takes effect June 30, 2026.

Kubacki joined XTB in 2010 as a junior lawyer and spent 16 years overseeing the company’s compliance, legal management, and internal control systems — a tenure that spans most of XTB‘s growth into a publicly traded firm operating 15 regulated entities. XTB has not named a replacement.

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