UAE bourses waive minimum commission fee on trading on all listed securities

The UAE bourses on Tuesday announced another major initiative to attract investors toward stock market and boost liquidity.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) said there will be no minimum commission fee on trades with effect from August 31 and September 1, 2021, respectively.

In a statement, ADX said it waived its minimum commission fee on trades in all listed securities with effect from August 31, 2021. DFM also announced the similar initiative but it would be effective from September 1, 2021.

The ADX said, its second major initiative after reducing trading fees by 50 per cent earlier this, will further encourage investors to invest in one of the best performing markets in the world this year. The exchange also announced an extension of market opening hours by one hour to 3pm from October 3 as part of its ‘ADX One’ strategy disclosed earlier this year to bolster activity and deepen liquidity in the market.

The removal of the minimum commission fee will facilitate higher volumes of small trades, typically undertaken by individual investors. The idea has been met with positive feedback in informal soundings among key stakeholders, including investors, brokers and listed companies.

Saeed Hamad Al Dhaheri, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, said ADX is an increasingly vibrant market that provides global and local investors with high quality access to the strong economic fundamentals in the region, and Abu Dhabi in particular.

“By waiving the minimum fee and reducing commission rates on all listed securities, we are providing more cost-effective trading for individual investors, ensuring that they benefit from the investment opportunities available to institutional investors. By increasing liquidity as well as broadening our offering of products and services, ADX will become an even more attractive market,” Al Dhaheri said.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index (ADI) has recently reached 7,700 points for the first time, supported by a series of listings and increased participation by international investors.

In addition, the index has gained 52 per cent year-to-date, making it one of the best performing equity indexes in the world. On Tuesday, the benchmark index closed unchanged at 7684.616 points.

Hassan Al Serkal, CEO of the DFM said waiving the minimum trading commission represents a significant development for retail investors in particular, as it will directly reduce the transaction cost and consequently maximizes the potential return, hence encouraging them to further trade on the market.

“The larger number of transactions will ultimately benefit various stakeholders including investors, brokerage houses, etc,” Al Serkal said.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com