ADX, Nasdaq Dubai to unveil index futures contract

Rashed Al Blooshi, chief executive of ADX, and Hamed Ali, chief executive of Nasdaq Dubai, sign an agreement to launch and develop an index futures contract.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Nasdaq Dubai have signed an agreement to develop and launch an index futures contract based on the Abu Dhabi General Index (ADI) on Nasdaq Dubai's derivatives platform.

The ADI indicates the performance of ADX listed stocks and is widely tracked by the investment and trading community locally and internationally. The ADI's value has risen by 70 per cent in the last five years. It tracks the performance of companies from multiple sectors such as telecommunication, financial services, real estate, energy and more.

Additionally, the two exchanges signed a memorandum of understanding focusing on further collaboration in terms of developing the local capital market, and jointly focusing on regional and local investor awareness programs about the new product offering through educational workshops.

Rashed Al Blooshi, chief executive of ADX, said: "One of the most important objectives for ADX within its strategic plan 2016-2020 is to attract and activate a wider range of investors, and increase market cap and product range."

Hamed Ali, chief executive of Nasdaq Dubai, said: "The introduction of index futures is a significant step in the evolution of the UAE capital markets. Index futures is a universal choice with market participants in an evolving derivatives marketplace and we believe this partnership will enable new opportunities for investors."

Nasdaq Dubai's derivatives platform currently comprises single stock futures on 13 leading UAE-listed companies. More than 2.5 million future contracts have traded since the market opened in September 2016.

Subject to regulatory approval, ADI futures are expected to be traded later this year with the support of leading UAE brokers and targeted at professional and institutional investors.
- business@khaleejtimes.com