The Abu Dhabi Securities Market and the FTSE Russell Foundation, which specializes in preparing and developing global financial indicators, have concluded an agreement under which FTSE Russell becomes the main official for the local stock indices in Abu Dhabi.
The market revealed that it has received a number of new listing requests, whose details are expected to be announced during the first quarter of this year, confirming its commitment to developing its operations in order to achieve its regional pioneering goal to become a leading investment center in making sustainability a central part of its main operational operations.
According to the agreement, FTSE Russell will start calculating the general index that includes all companies listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange, and nine indicators specific to the sector (banks, consumer goods, energy, financial services, industries, insurance, real estate, services, telecommunications).
The two sides also intend to plan to launch a new series of indicators of sustainable financing and indicators compatible with Islamic law, which supports the efforts of the market in its path towards strengthening investment tools and developing innovative initiatives that serve customers.
Insert requests
Abu Dhabi Securities Market Chief Executive Khalifa Al-Mansouri said that the market has received a number of new listing requests, the details of which are expected to be announced during the first quarter of this year.
In statements on the sidelines of the signing of the agreement with FTSE Russell, he pointed out that "Abu Dhabi Securities" intends to launch indicators for sustainable financing and those that are compatible with Islamic law before the end of the first half of this year, in the context of a plan to raise the attractiveness of the market and enhance liquidity levels.
Al-Mansoori pointed out that the Abu Dhabi Securities Market receives many questions about the new listing plan without specifying its number or in any of the sectors, pointing out that the vision of the nature of these listings will become clearer in the coming days.
He continued, "We aim to reach a high position, raise the market attractiveness of listings, enhance liquidity levels, increase investor awareness and confidence, as we will invest in infrastructure, external partnerships, the development of institutional digital transformation, and the investor’s journey," noting that the partnership with FTSE Russell »One of these steps is to achieve the desired results.
Local indicators
Al-Mansouri affirmed that “Footsie Russell” is one of the leading institutions in calculating indicators. He said: “We aspire to create many indicators in this regard, including: indicators in green energy, sustainability and the real estate sector, but the first step is the infrastructure to establish these indicators.”
He stressed that the agreement with FTSE Russell is of particular importance to the market, as it coincides with the ADX One market strategy aimed at attracting more foreign investors to the market and improving the competitiveness of the global market.
For his part, CEO of FTSE Russell, Waqas Samad, confirmed that the institution will provide its expertise as a provider of global indicators, to create a new environmental system for the market, as the new set of indicators will expand the investor base, by launching new investment alternatives that will increase sustainable investments in UAE.
Secondary emerging market
FTSE Russell ranks the UAE market as a "secondary emerging market" in the global equity index series (GEIS), and companies listed in the UAE currently represent 0.93 of the FTSE Emerging Markets Index, a global index that is widely used.