Merger of UAE stock markets agreed in principle, top Dubai official says

The agreement has been reached between the two - there is a dialogue but it is not yet finalised, according to Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, head of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Council.

Market watchers have been saying a merger of the two main exchanges in the country would benefit financial markets here. Above, the trading floor of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Nicole Hill / ThShow more

A top Dubai economic policymaker said on Monday that an agreement to merge the two main stock markets in the United Arab Emirates, the Dubai Financial Market and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, had been reached in principle but nothing had been finalised.

“It is going to be very positive. The agreement has been reached between the two - there is a dialogue but it is not yet finalised,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, head of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Council, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi.

Sources told Reuters last year that advisors had been appointed to help facilitate a merger of the exchanges, but the idea has been discussed sporadically for years without a deal.

Sheikh Ahmed, who is the uncle of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, also said Dubai was watching markets for a potential sovereign bond issue.

“When the market is good we should go to the market,” he said, adding when asked about current market conditions: “It is good now, there is a lot of liquidity in the market both in the UAE and internationally.”

However, he would not be drawn on whether Dubai planned to issue any time soon: “We always think of it,” he said.