Dubai Financial Market profit soars 708.5% on investment opportunities

The DFM Index ended 2013 as the second best performing equity benchmark globally after Venezuela, with Abu Dhabi’s index coming in third with a gain of 63 per cent. — Reuters

DFM said revenues surged to Dh453.1 million at the end of 2013 from Dh191 million in 2012. The total revenue comprised Dh400 million of operational revenues and Dh53.1 million of investment revenues.

At a meeting on Thursday, the board of directors reviewed and approved the annual results, which will be presented for ratification at the annual general meeting of the company due to be held on March 3 in coordination with The UAE Securities and Commodities Authority, DFM said in a statement.

The board also proposed a cash dividend of five per cent of the capital equivalent to Dh400 million.

Essa Abdul Fattah Kazim, Chairman of DFM, said last year was packed with enormous achievements and positive developments.

He pointed out that DFM was the second best-performing exchange globally in 2013.

DFM Index ended 2013 ranked as the second best performing equity benchmark globally after Venezuela, with Abu Dhabi’s index coming in third with a gain of 63 per cent. Dubai’s stock market capitalisation almost doubled this year amid reignited investor interest in local shares in anticipation of an upgrade in its classification to “emerging markets” status and Dubai winning its bid to host the Expo 2020.

“DFM started to reap the fruit of many years of hard work and efforts to develop its infrastructure in accordance with international best practices,” Kazim said. The DFM General Index recorded a phenomenal growth rate of 107.7 per cent and the daily average of trading value significantly increased by 231.8 per cent to Dh642.1 million compared to Dh193.5 million in 2012.

The total traded value also increased in 2013 by 227.8 per cent to Dh159.8 billion, in comparison to Dh48.7 billion during 2012, the exchange said in a statement.

“This impressive performance stems from the growing awareness amongst various investors of the underlying values and attractive investment opportunities offered by the DFM,” Kazim said.

He said such positive factors have played a pivotal role in the MSCI Inc. and S&P Dow Jones decision to upgrade the UAE market to “Emerging Market” status. “We believe that the boom in 2013 represents a new starting point for DFM.” He said as part of the ongoing development steps, the DFM has implemented key initiatives in 2013 based on international best practices. These include Buyer Cash Compensation; the preparation of Securities Lending and Borrowing rules; and the expansion of Margin Trading services, lifting the number of DFM-approved brokerage firms providing this service to 11 by the end of 2013.

The DFM also introduced Direct Market Access (DMA) and approved 6 brokerage firms to provide this service to international investors. The DFM also increased its efforts in 2013 to provide electronic services and smart phone applications as part of the Company’s innovation and development strategy adopted since its inception in the year 2000.

The DFM chief said the bourse had developed an advanced infrastructure to support mobile trading and launched the DFM smart phone application. “This places our services in the palm of the hands of our market participants with all the latest updates, share prices, market news and company disclosures,” Kazim added.

DFM has actively participated in Dubai’s efforts towards becoming the capital of Islamic economy and to strengthen the Emirate’s position as a global Sukuk centre. In 2013, DFM attracted several listings from local, regional and international institutions, raising the total value of listed sukuk on the emirate’s markets by 44.5 per cent to Dh48.8 billion by the end of 2013 in comparison to Dh33.8 billion at the outset of the same year. Also in 2013, DFM introduced its Standard for Issuing, Acquiring and Trading sukuk DFM as part of its extensive efforts towards creating a favorable environment for the prosperity of the Islamic finance sector, including the creation of standard frameworks which encourage local and foreign institutions to rely on Islamic finance solutions.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com