Quote from dakoo:
Nearly vomited when I saw that one.. hehe.. it's going to take these new money arabs many generations to develop anything resembling decency or sophistication...
Not a nice thing to say, but never mind.
I went to DPTG a couple of weeks ago on behalf of a friend abroad, and here's what they offered.
1) You rent a desk for a monthly sum ($2500 or less). You get the desk space, hardware (puter + screens), internet connection.
2) You can trade your own account with any broker you want, including IB. They have no restrictions.
3) If you open an account with the London-based brokerage THEY work with, you get the benefit of their "wholesale commissions structure", plus use of their leased line. This is not a biggie imho because the normal internet connection you would use otherwise is quite reliable.
4) To obtain a residence visa in the country, you can set up your own company in a Free Zone. That licence will be in your name, and you won't be working for anyone, or under the "sponsorship" of anyone. And you won't need a partner.
5) Easiest would be to set up the company in the same Free Zone as DPTG. It would cost you around $7,000 a year. You need to lock up some starting capital of around $80,000 while the licence is being issued. Once the licence is issued, usually a week to 10 days, your bank is instructed to unfreeze it, so you can use it as you please.
6) To set up any company, you also need to rent an office.
7) If you set up your company THROUGH DPTG, then the desk you rent with them is considered as your "rented office". So you can get a licence issued in your name without renting an actual office.
8) They can also help you with that $80,000 declared capital. If you go through them to obtain your licence, they might be able to get the Licensing Authority to accept a lower starting capital, and to get the licence issued faster so that it's not locked up at the bank for more than a couple of days.
9) So, in a nutshell, you need around $2,500 per month as rental for your desk, plus around $7k a year for your licence. That's as far as the "official" side goes. Your other expenses would be accommodation, etc.
I hope this helps.
That arab thing I said is probably out of line. Shouldn't have said it in a public forum.