Hamid Ali confirmed the existence of negotiations with regional and international companies with the aim of including them in the "market".
Dubai Financial is looking forward to listing real estate companies during the coming period
The IPO Summit activities in the Middle East and North Africa will continue until the 25th of this month.
Photography: Ahmed Arditi
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The CEO of the Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai, Hamed Ali, stated that the recovery of the real estate sector in Dubai, and the achievement of strong numbers, will be reflected in the primary listing market, with regard to the sector.
And he indicated, in press statements, during the IPO Summit in the Middle East and North Africa, which was held in Dubai, yesterday, that the Dubai market is looking forward to listing companies from the real estate sector in the market during the coming period.
He added, "The market is currently in discussions with a number of listed companies, in other regional and international markets, with the aim of listing them independently or jointly in the Dubai Financial Market, and we are very optimistic about the performance of the economies of the country and the Gulf region during 2023."
corporate portfolio
In detail, Hamed Ali, CEO of the Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai, said, during a press statement during the IPO Summit in the Middle East and North Africa, that “the diversity of the portfolio of companies in the Dubai Financial Market, and the diversification of Dubai’s economy, open up strong opportunities for companies to access financial markets and finance its growth operations,” pointing out that the Dubai market is anticipating the inclusion of companies from the real estate sector in the market during the coming period.
He added, "We would like to see companies from different sectors in the market, reflecting the diversity of the emirate's economy."
Ali continued: «The Dubai government dealt perfectly with the (Corona) pandemic, and this helped motivate companies to improve their governance and transparency practices, enhance the momentum of activity and growth, and helped them accelerate the process of digital transformation, and today we must benefit from this momentum and integration taking place in The region, in pushing the financial markets, but we will also be selective in offering operations.
The real estate sector
And Ali stated, “The demand in the real estate sector is still good, which is reflected in the volume of real estate sales on a daily basis.
There is a demand for infrastructure and real estate units, and this demand is not only investment, but there is a demand from end users, in conjunction with the increase in the population of the emirate, which increased by about 150 thousand new residents, last year, and this creates a demand in the real estate market as well.
Dubai is the first in the region in the level of investments that entered the real estate market, and this will certainly reflect positively on the Dubai Financial Market.
He continued, "We would like to see more companies in the UAE markets as a whole, and the Dubai market in particular," adding: "But companies must define the exact goals they want to achieve through listing, and we are in constant dialogue with companies in this regard."
Family companies
Ali stated that the recent legislation that has been amended, such as canceling the minimum company offering for subscription, had a significant impact on modernizing many private and family companies, and encouraging them in general to consider listing on the Dubai Financial Market.
Ali pointed out, "The infrastructure available in the Dubai Financial Market allows for the inclusion of more investment funds in the market, and we will not have any direction to the contrary, because these funds enhance the market in terms of product diversity."
He pointed out that «despite the difficult circumstances the world went through, last year, such as high interest rates and others, it did not greatly affect the companies' plans to list.
We believe that these circumstances will not change our priorities and directions or the companies' plans for listing.
The last interest rate update was last October, while our last listing was last November.
We are very optimistic about the performance of the economies of the country and the Gulf region during 2023.”
digital transformation
And Ali stated, “33% of the total stock subscriptions in the Dubai Financial Market, last year, for individuals took place through (websites).
We are continuing with these plans, which will allow investors to subscribe at any time and anywhere in the world.”
He pointed out that «the market is currently in discussions with a number of listed companies, in other regional and international markets, with the aim of listing them independently or jointly in the Dubai Financial Market, and according to the desire of companies that wish to achieve better access to global investors through the Dubai Financial Market».
Powerful performance
For his part, Director General of the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dubai Financial Market, Hilal Al-Marri, confirmed that "the economy of the UAE and Dubai recorded a strong performance during the year 2022," referring to the plans that target small and medium companies, in line with the Dubai agenda that defines Roadmap and objectives of the Emirate for the next 10 years.
He pointed out that these new projects, which are part of the Dubai plan, aim to identify 400 companies that have a huge potential to support the capabilities of small and medium companies, and help them develop brands that rise to the world.
He pointed out that the Middle East region is witnessing a pace of innovation during the current period, with abundant opportunities, especially in the capital markets, which increases the intensity of initial public offerings.
Al-Marri said, "All the main economic sectors recorded a good performance," pointing out that "there are many positive indicators of the strong economic growth witnessed by the country, which coincides with the slowdown in the world."
He continued, "The tourism sector strengthened its strong performance, and we also saw growth in the financial sector, as many financial institutions chose Dubai as their headquarters, while Dubai became a place for talent, in addition to the movement of many offices of family businesses and wealth owners to the city."
Al-Marri pointed out that there are plans for transformative projects targeting small and medium-sized companies, in line with the Dubai Agenda (D33), which will disseminate best practices of governance and social and environmental responsibility, in addition to reviewing a roadmap for startups and small and medium-sized companies in Dubai.
It includes developments in the regulatory environment, business culture and the opportunities available to them to benefit from the capital markets to enhance their activities up to the stage of public offering.
He explained that «the new projects of the Dubai Financial Market, as part of (D33) aim to identify 400 companies with high potential to support capacity-building for small and medium-sized companies, and help them develop a global transformative brand».
Family companies
The CEO of Grant Thornton, Hisham Farouk, said that the “IPO Summit Forum in the Middle East and North Africa” includes major subscribers and IPO companies in Dubai, and confirms that government agencies seek to invest in IPOs, explaining that last year the focus was on Governmental and semi-governmental companies, and that with the beginning of this year, we see a focus on family businesses that have begun to enter the market.
He pointed out that there are obstacles facing the launch of family businesses in the market, represented in the evaluation of the company, governance, technology, in addition to the future strategy of the company, and all these things are being improved by companies in order to be able to trade on the stock exchange.
Farouk added, "90% of companies in the Middle East are family or private companies."
He stressed that the rate of UAE acquisition of IPOs in the Middle East region reaches 23%, explaining that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are the two largest countries in terms of offering companies on the stock exchange and underwriting during 2023.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia lead IPOs in the region
Salah Shamma, head of the equity investment sector in the Middle East and North Africa region at Franklin Templeton Investment Company, said, "The Saudi and UAE markets will lead the IPOs in the region, amid great stimuli in the market."
He pointed out that the IPO market in Dubai during the year 2022 witnessed great momentum, and this momentum is expected to continue in the current year, with attracting large investors, in addition to the process of listing companies, which gives the possibility of investing in non-governmental sectors, and achieves good growth rates, such as retail. and logistic.
Shamma stated that a company such as "Al-Ansari Exchange" is achieving good growth levels, so its inclusion in the market will arouse the appetite of investors.
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