ABU DHABI, UAE: Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), the region’s leading financial market, recently hosted a delegation from the French Business Group-Abu Dhabi in which the operational framework, vision, mission, and investment opportunities at ADX was highlighted to the delegation.
Members of senior management attended the event from both sides. Mr. Abdul Aziz Al Neaimi, Assistant Chief Executive of ADX, welcomed the visiting delegation stating: “ADX is keen to strengthen community outreach with investors in the financial markets in the aim of developing investment awareness so as for investors to gain profitable and secure returns “.
Al Neaimi added that ADX has adopted a strategic initiative aimed at developing investment awareness by introducing investors to investment opportunities and identifying the most important challenges and opportunities facing investment. During the meeting, the Assistant Chief Executive of ADX, presented to the delegation the Exchange’s key achievements while underlying that ADX is considered a preferred destination for foreign investments in the region, as a result of its strong performance noting that the Exchange offers one of the highest dividend yields in the region and globally.
Al Neaimi reiterated the importance of meeting and collaborating with foreign business councils in the UAE to display the advantages of investing on the Exchange. He noted that cooperation with the French Business Group is an important platform to open a dialogue with French nationals residing in the country.
Moreover, these meetings are part of ADX’s larger strategic objectives to attract investors and enhance the investment environment in the Emirate – a move that is in line with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.
The number of French investors on the Exchange stood at 487 by the end of 2018 of which 34 are institutional investors. The total value of their trades (buy+ sell) during 2018 amounted to about AED 45 million. By the end of 2018, the value of shares they owned exceeded AED 120 million compared to AED 94 million by the end of 2017, representing an increase of 29%.
During the meeting, the positive results achieved by the Exchange during the first quarter of 2019 were also highlighted. Trading values reached about AED 12 billion compared to about AED 9 billion in the same period of 2018, an increase of 32.5%. Whereas net foreign investment during the first quarter of 2019 alone stood to about AED 1.3 billion compared to AED 321 million in the same period last year, representing a growth of 294%.
Furthermore, net institutional investment increased by 13.2% during the first quarter of 2019, with AED 802 million compared to AED 708 million in the same period of 2018. Mrs. Helena Daniel, Executive Director of the French Business Group, Said: “We thank the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange for hosting us, and we are pleased to build a partnership with the market for the mutual benefit of both parties. We look forward to further enhancing and strengthening our relationships”.
She added: “the financial sector is a strategic sector in Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 and therefore represents an important part of the French business group “.
The meeting concluded with an explanation of the Exchange’s efforts to ensure listed companies’ adherence to the OECD’s governance standards, as well as ADX’s recent accession to the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchange initiative to ensure sustainability and transparency.
The French Business Group of Abu Dhabi is an independent non-profit organization committed to promote business relations between the United Arab Emirates and France. Founded in 1974, today the French Business Group has nearly 300 members ranging from UAE national corporations, French top CAC 40 multinationals, SME, to business leaders and individual private members, from various sectors.[the_ad id=”31605”]