If you want to trade PRX, the JSE-listed share of Prosus N.V., the most direct route with an international broker is through a Contract for Difference (CFD) on the share. This page explains exactly how that works with XTB, what it costs, and what to watch out for as a South African resident.

Prosus is a large-cap technology investment holding company, best known as the largest shareholder in Tencent. It trades on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange under the ticker PRX and is a member of the FTSE/JSE Top 40 Index. Because of its link to Tencent and global tech, it is a high-volatility stock that retail investors often use for exposure to the Chinese tech sector.

First Things First

Before you open a position, you need to understand what you are actually buying. When you trade PRX with XTB from South Africa, you are not buying the underlying Prosus shares. You are trading a CFD, which is a derivative product that mirrors the price movement of the share. This means you can go long or short, but you do not get ownership rights or dividends in the traditional sense.

XTB offers two main account types: Standard and Pro. The Standard account is commission-free, with costs built into the spread. The Pro account offers tighter spreads but adds a per-lot commission.

XTB and South African Clients

South African clients are onboarded under the offshore group entity, XTB International Limited, which holds a Belize FSC licence (No. 000302/316). A local entity, XTB Africa (Pty) Ltd, is FSCA-authorised (licensed 10 Aug 2021), but it is not used for onboarding clients.

In practice, your client-facing contract is with the Belize entity, not the FSCA-regulated local entity. The local FSCA licence exists, but it does not provide statutory protection for your specific account.

Costs and Spreads

XTB's cost structure is straightforward, and for a share like PRX, the spread is your main expense on the Standard account. On forex pairs like AUD/USD, the spread is around 0.5-0.9 pips. For stock CFDs like PRX, the spread is variable and depends on market conditions, especially during the JSE session from 09:00 to 17:00 SAST.

There is no set minimum deposit, so you can start with a small amount. Deposits are free, but there is a small withdrawal fee of around 10 units (currency depends on your base account) for withdrawals under a certain threshold.

Leverage on PRX

The offshore entity advertises up to 1:500 on forex, which is not capped by the FSCA for these clients. For a volatile stock like Prosus, high leverage is a double-edged sword.

A 1% adverse move in PRX wipes out half of your margin at 1:50 leverage. At 1:100, that same move eliminates the entire margin. The price of Prosus moves more than 1% in a single session regularly, especially around Tencent earnings or Chinese regulatory news.

Currency and ownership limits

Real shares and ETFs, which are offered on XTB's EEA entities, are not available for South African clients. You are limited to CFDs, which means you do not get actual share ownership.

There is no ZAR base account. Your account can be set up in USD, EUR, or GBP. This means you will incur a conversion fee when you deposit Rand. Banks typically charge around 2-3% for the ZAR-to-USD conversion, and the broker also applies a spread on the conversion.

• Verify the broker's FSP status on the FSCA register at fsca.co.za
• Confirm which legal entity will be your counterparty
• Check whether a ZAR base account exists to avoid conversion fees
• Understand the withdrawal fee structure before you deposit

Regulatory Context in South Africa

Retail forex/CFD trading is legal and regulated in South Africa. The conduct regulator is the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). Any broker serving SA retail clients must be an authorised Financial Services Provider (FSP) under the FAIS Act; brokers acting as counterparty/market-maker issuing CFDs must additionally hold an OTC Derivative Provider (ODP) authorisation under the Financial Markets Act, carrying capital-adequacy and trade-reporting duties.

South Africa has no ESMA-style retail leverage cap, so brokers - especially offshore entities - can offer high leverage. Any broker's FSP status can be checked free on the FSCA FSP register.

The FSCA publishes public warnings against unauthorised/impostor firms via its Media Releases. Common scam patterns include social-media recruitment with guaranteed-profit promises, 'pay tax/fees to withdraw' advance-fee traps, and clone/impostor brokers forging licences. The FSCA recorded roughly 1,247 forex-scam complaints in 2023, about R547m lost, with only ~12% recovered (as of the review).

Tax Considerations

SARS taxes South African residents on worldwide income, including profits from offshore brokers. Frequent or active forex trading is generally taxed as income at your marginal rate, which ranges from 18% to 45%, not as capital gains. Active traders typically register for provisional tax (IRP6 due end-Aug and end-Feb, plus a third top-up if owing) and file the annual ITR12; trading-related expenses are deductible. Rates and brackets change annually - verify with SARS.

Funding and Payments

Dominant local funding in SA is Instant EFT via open-banking gateways (Ozow, Capitec Pay, SiD) - deposits are usually instant and free; withdrawals typically take 1-2 business days. XTB's verified funding methods for South African clients are bank wire and Visa/Mastercard; e-wallets (Skrill) vary; local ZAR instant-EFT was not verified at the time of review.

Capital Controls and Market Hours

South Africa has exchange controls administered by SARB Financial Surveillance. Tax residents may move funds offshore under the Single Discretionary Allowance (SDA): R1m per calendar year (raised to R2m from April 2026), no prior approval; plus the Foreign Investment Allowance up to R10m/year, which requires a SARS tax-clearance (AIT) certificate. These allowances cover funding foreign broker accounts; amounts above the combined limit need special SARB approval.

The JSE equities session runs 09:00-17:00 SAST (GMT+2, no DST). For FX, the highest-liquidity window for SA traders is the London-New York overlap, about 15:00-18:00 SAST.

Verify regulatory details before deposit

Before you deposit, verify the regulatory details listed on the XTB website. Confirm that the FSP number on the site matches the FSCA register. Also, check your account agreement to see which entity is named as the counterparty. This determines which regulator can help you if something goes wrong.