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ADX, DFM end stellar roadshows in London

The UAE bourses are extending its global appeal to investors in London as both Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and The Dubai Financial Market concluded roadshows exhibiting potential regional opportunities.

ADX hosted a delegation of over 25 senior executives from 9 listed companies at a two-day event.

The roadshow recorded 204 investor meetings across 47 one-on-one meetings and 37 group meetings with a total of 89 institutional investors. The event had some of the world’s largest asset management firms in attendance, who collectively manage an aggregate of over $4 trillion in assets under management.

Saeed Hamad Al Dhaheri, managing director and chief executive officer of ADX, said: “The well-attended roadshow and size of the ADX delegation is a clear example of the deep and growing international and institutional investor confidence in both Abu Dhabi as a premier investment destination and ADX as the hub for regional participation of institutional and international capital. This is evident through the robust demand our recent IPO pipeline and listings have continued to attract. By building on ADX’s strong market performance and the strategic achievements garnered over the last year, Abu Dhabi and its capital market ecosystem continue to be strongly poised and positioned for a sustained period of growth as we continue to diversify and scale our product, service and sector offering.”

This integral roadshow comes amidst a backdrop of significant and sustained activity on ADX which has seen increasingly growing demand and interest across its capital markets from international and institutional investors – including on IPOs, listings, and new product launches. This stream of activity has led to ADX recently surpassing the Dh2 trillion market capitalisation target milestone to become the second-largest exchange in the Middle East.

Abdulfattah Sharaf, CEO of HSBC UAE and Head of International Middle East, said: “The UAE economy is a hub of market activity across the Middle East, as evidenced by the past year’s boom in IPO listings across the country. Despite ongoing global challenges, the UAE economy has been resilient and that is reflected in surging demand from investors, seeking access to this rapidly-emerging market. We are excited to connect our global investors to the opportunities in the UAE and that is why we’ve convened this event.”

ADX’s recent initiatives to foster and attract international investors continue to bear fruit with institutional investors trading values (buy + sell) increasing by 83 per cent from Dh93 billion in Q1 2021 to reach Dh170 billion in Q1 2022, while net foreign investment stood at Dh8.3 billion. Moreover, the market value of shares owned by foreign investors from Dh50 billion in Q1 2021 to Dh131 billion during Q1 2022, an increase of around 163 per cent with the top 25 asset and fund managers in the world in terms of AUM currently invested in ADX-listed companies.

DFM’s international investor roadshow

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) International Investor Roadshow 2022 in London has successfully attracted numerous leading global investment institutions. The event conveyed a strong message on the profound confidence of international investors towards Dubai financial markets’ prospects as well as their enthusiasm to take their robust presence steps farther in the future. The roadshow was organised in collaboration with HSBC on June 9 - June 10, 2022, with the participation of nine equity and debt issuers on Dubai capital markets namely; Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), Dubai Islamic Bank, Emaar Properties, Emaar Development, Emirates NBD, DP World, Amanat, Aramex, and DFM Company. The event included 162 one-on-one meetings with senior representatives of 56 international funds managing more than $2 trillion of assets. The roadshow was organised alongside HSBC’s GCC London Conference held last week focusing on emerging markets, which offered participating companies a unique opportunity to share their business developments and growth strategies with a wide-ranging equity and fixed income international investment institutions.

Hamed Ali, CEO of DFM and Nasdaq Dubai, said: “International investors are actively participating in our market maintaining nearly 52 per cent of trading activity and 23 percent of ownership. On the other hand, our listed companies are increasingly opening up to foreign investors. For instance, Aramex recently allowed 100 percent foreign ownership. These positive indicators and initiatives strengthen Dubai capital markets position at the forefront of the most welcoming and receiving of foreign investments in the region. The success of the roadshow as shown by number of institutions and meetings, is also another testament on the robust demand as Dubai accelerates steps to implant its ambitious strategy to develop financial markets and provides further impetus to our constant efforts to invigorate trading activities and attract more local and international investments.”