Company Insights Nasdaq Dubai Markets Nasdaq Dubai Overview Nasdaq Dubai is a stock exchange in the emirate of Dubai that specialises in international stocks. It is based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a financial free zone which opened in 2004. It is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. Nasdaq Dubai covers the United Arab Emirates and the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the wider Middle East and North Africa, Turkey and the Indian sub-continent. Its roots lie in the launch in 2005 of the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX). In 2008 a one third stake in DIFX was acquired by the former Nasdaq OMX Group, with the rest owned by Bourse Dubai, the holding company for Dubai Financial Market (DFM) – the stock exchange in the emirates for mostly local companies – and DIFX was rebranded Nasdq Dubai. DFM acquired a two thirds share of Nasdaq Dubai in 2010, with Bourse Dubai owning the rest. The minimum market capitalisation for companies to list on Nasdq Dubai was lowered in 2012 to $10 million, from $50 million, encouraging listings by small and medium-sized enterprises. Nasdaq Dubai is the third largest exchange in the world for listed sukuk by value. It also operates a Murabaha platform for Islamic financing. In 2024 it hosted 11 bond issuances worth $6.45 billion and 42 sukuk issuances valued at $18.84 billion. It also issued China’s first sovereign bond in the Middle East. Nasdaq Dubai News Real Estate Dubai Residential REIT takes off on bourse debut Dubai Residential REIT surged on its bourse debut on Wednesday as investors who missed out on its $584 million initial public offering (IPO) bought the stock. The success is being seen as an indication of enduring confidence in the emirate’s buoyant property sector. A real estate investment trust (REIT) owns or finances income-generating property, enabling […] May 28, 2025 Markets Dubai lays out welcome mat for Chinese finance The Dubai International Financial Centre is stepping up efforts to attract Chinese securities firms and corporates hoping to raise funds through initial public offerings, positioning itself as an alternative jurisdiction to Hong Kong and New York. Set up in 2004, the DIFC provides a platform for financial institutions with a legal and regulatory framework that […] May 12, 2025 Real Estate Dubai Holding to list real estate investment trust Dubai Holding is to list its residential real estate investment trust (REIT), shrugging off local investor scepticism towards the structures and becoming the first initial public offering (IPO) on the Dubai stock exchange this year. The investment conglomerate owned by Sheikh Muhammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the emirate’s ruler, said on Monday that it will […] May 5, 2025 Real Estate Omniyat raises $500m to fund sustainable projects Dubai real estate developer Omniyat has raised $500 million to fund its sustainable developments. The order book of the inaugural three-year green sukuk was oversubscribed 3.6 times, reaching $1.8 billion. The sukuk will be listed and traded on Nasdaq Dubai and the London Stock Exchange’s international securities market. The pricing details were not given. Sukuk […] May 5, 2025 Markets DFM first-quarter profit jumps on higher trading activity Profit at Dubai Financial Market surged more than 40 percent year on year in the first quarter, driven by the highest trading activity in more than a decade, the company said. Net profit before tax rose to AED135 million ($37 million) in the three months to March 31, compared with AED95.6 million in the same […] May 2, 2025 Logistics DP World raises 2025 capex to develop global assets Dubai-headquartered DP World intends to increase its capital expenditure this year to upgrade its global assets despite geopolitical challenges. DP World’s Capex reached $2.2 billion in 2024 compared with $2.1 billion in 2023, the state-backed ports operator said in a statement published on Nasdaq Dubai. Capex for 2025 is set at $2.5 billion, primarily targeting […] March 13, 2025 Giga-projects Billionaire calls for review of Egyptian mega-projects Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris said his country’s mega-projects should be reconsidered to save money as they require a lot of foreign currency. “I will be polite and I would say we have an overambitious president who is doing mega projects that are requiring a lot of foreign currency and we should have a second look […] February 27, 2025 Markets More dual listings expected as IPO trend continues Last year, eight companies launched initial public offerings (IPO) on the two main stock exchanges in the UAE, attracting more than $7 billion in investment. The same number could float this year and list in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, analysts say. UAE-based technology company Alpha Data has already announced plans to list 40 percent of its […] February 20, 2025 Banking and Finance Bahrain’s GFH buys $136m Dubai-based logistics fund GFH Partners, the DIFC-based asset management arm of Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group, has acquired Manrre REIT, the Dubai-based fund with assets across the UAE and the GCC region. The fund’s portfolio is valued at AED500 million ($136.13 million), including 26 industrial and logistics properties in the Emirates. GFH Partners has assumed the fund manager’s role […] December 31, 2024 Analysis Finance GCC sukuk’s best-kept secret: Dublin For many people, the city of Guinness and James Joyce may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking about Islamic bonds. Yet, according to a report last month from Fitch Ratings, the Dublin stock exchange – Euronext Dublin – is now the world’s largest listing venue for hard currency global sukuk. […] December 5, 2024 Posts navigation 1 2 … 4 Next
Real Estate Dubai Residential REIT takes off on bourse debut Dubai Residential REIT surged on its bourse debut on Wednesday as investors who missed out on its $584 million initial public offering (IPO) bought the stock. The success is being seen as an indication of enduring confidence in the emirate’s buoyant property sector. A real estate investment trust (REIT) owns or finances income-generating property, enabling […] May 28, 2025
Markets Dubai lays out welcome mat for Chinese finance The Dubai International Financial Centre is stepping up efforts to attract Chinese securities firms and corporates hoping to raise funds through initial public offerings, positioning itself as an alternative jurisdiction to Hong Kong and New York. Set up in 2004, the DIFC provides a platform for financial institutions with a legal and regulatory framework that […] May 12, 2025
Real Estate Dubai Holding to list real estate investment trust Dubai Holding is to list its residential real estate investment trust (REIT), shrugging off local investor scepticism towards the structures and becoming the first initial public offering (IPO) on the Dubai stock exchange this year. The investment conglomerate owned by Sheikh Muhammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the emirate’s ruler, said on Monday that it will […] May 5, 2025
Real Estate Omniyat raises $500m to fund sustainable projects Dubai real estate developer Omniyat has raised $500 million to fund its sustainable developments. The order book of the inaugural three-year green sukuk was oversubscribed 3.6 times, reaching $1.8 billion. The sukuk will be listed and traded on Nasdaq Dubai and the London Stock Exchange’s international securities market. The pricing details were not given. Sukuk […] May 5, 2025
Markets DFM first-quarter profit jumps on higher trading activity Profit at Dubai Financial Market surged more than 40 percent year on year in the first quarter, driven by the highest trading activity in more than a decade, the company said. Net profit before tax rose to AED135 million ($37 million) in the three months to March 31, compared with AED95.6 million in the same […] May 2, 2025
Logistics DP World raises 2025 capex to develop global assets Dubai-headquartered DP World intends to increase its capital expenditure this year to upgrade its global assets despite geopolitical challenges. DP World’s Capex reached $2.2 billion in 2024 compared with $2.1 billion in 2023, the state-backed ports operator said in a statement published on Nasdaq Dubai. Capex for 2025 is set at $2.5 billion, primarily targeting […] March 13, 2025
Giga-projects Billionaire calls for review of Egyptian mega-projects Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris said his country’s mega-projects should be reconsidered to save money as they require a lot of foreign currency. “I will be polite and I would say we have an overambitious president who is doing mega projects that are requiring a lot of foreign currency and we should have a second look […] February 27, 2025
Markets More dual listings expected as IPO trend continues Last year, eight companies launched initial public offerings (IPO) on the two main stock exchanges in the UAE, attracting more than $7 billion in investment. The same number could float this year and list in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, analysts say. UAE-based technology company Alpha Data has already announced plans to list 40 percent of its […] February 20, 2025
Banking and Finance Bahrain’s GFH buys $136m Dubai-based logistics fund GFH Partners, the DIFC-based asset management arm of Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group, has acquired Manrre REIT, the Dubai-based fund with assets across the UAE and the GCC region. The fund’s portfolio is valued at AED500 million ($136.13 million), including 26 industrial and logistics properties in the Emirates. GFH Partners has assumed the fund manager’s role […] December 31, 2024
Analysis Finance GCC sukuk’s best-kept secret: Dublin For many people, the city of Guinness and James Joyce may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking about Islamic bonds. Yet, according to a report last month from Fitch Ratings, the Dublin stock exchange – Euronext Dublin – is now the world’s largest listing venue for hard currency global sukuk. […] December 5, 2024
