The UAE’s stock exchanges are moving a step closer to setting up a platform for secondary listings targeting as many as 135 private joint stock companies.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) this year will launch separate screens for investors to trade shares currently bought and sold over the counter, according to the federal stock market regulator.
“We are targeting not only the local market, but regional and then the wider Middle East,” said Abdullah Al Turaifi, the chief executive at the Securities and Commodities Authority.
“We want our exchanges to become a platform for private joint stock companies on the national and regional levels.”
Brokers who traded shares of private companies such as Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society and Manazel Real Estate were jokingly referred as “Dr Briefcase” because they carried valuable documents needed to process the trades.
Several major companies are still traded outside the market, including Manazel, Al Qudra Holding, Noor Capital, The National Investor and RAK Petroleum. The supermarket chain Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society is arguably the most prominent company traded over the counter.
After the global financial crisis, many companies preferred to stay outside the market because they believed their valuations were much higher than what the bourses would offer, or because their shareholders want to keep control.
These companies are classified as private joint stock companies, which allows them to sell shares to individuals without going public.
But a surge in liquidity and equity values has encouraged five to six companies to prepare for initial public offerings this year valued at Dh8 billion, Majd Maaiteh, the head of securities at National Bank of Abu Dhabi, said in an interview on Monday.
The companies include a mix of retail, hospitality and healthcare offerings, he said.
The DFM and ADX were among the world’s best-performing stock exchanges last year and the rally has continued into 2014. Abu Dhabi shares are up 14 per cent this year, with Dubai’s measure 24 per cent higher.
“I think the market is ready,” Mr Al Turaifi said. “We have seen a lot of cash, and values of trades have increased tremendously. This is encouraging a lot of companies to list and we will be announcing them in due course once they have completed the required process and feasibility.”
Before the establishment of local stock exchanges, shares of private joint stock companies were regulated by the Central Bank, which licensed brokerages to trade shares.
Talk of installing an electronic screen for over-the-counter shares so that brokers could see real-time quotes, volumes and averages began in 2010.
The screen will bring greater transparency to those trades and allow for more frequent trading, brokers say.
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
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Why%20all%20the%20lefties%3F
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The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
The%20specs
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Director: Tim Burton
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.