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 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 & 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 EXCLUSIVE Artificial Intelligence AI regulations double investment costs, says Mashreq Bank Differing rules surrounding artificial intelligence and the lack of a global regulatory environment is doubling the cost of new investments and complicating business expansion, a leading UAE financial institution has revealed. Amith Rajan, executive vice-president at Mashreq Bank, told AGBI that a “patchwork” AI regulatory landscape has prevented the bank from entering some countries, and […] July 11, 2024 Markets Fees and procedures make UAE IPOs more complex UAE companies seeking to go public must undertake complex and often costly procedures to complete an initial public offering, although fees remain reasonable by international standards because of competition among advisers, according to experts. This decade, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have part-privatised many government-owned companies, sparking an IPO flurry that runs counter to slowdowns in […] June 26, 2024 Construction Arada to part-fund projects from $400m sukuk The real estate developer Arada has raised $400 million through sukuk (Islamic bonds) to part fund its projects across the UAE. The sukuk order book reached $1.45 billion, 3.5 times oversubscribed, after strong demand from both regional and international investors. The fundraising is the first issuance under Arada’s newly established $1 billion sukuk programme, the […] June 12, 2024 Analysis Markets Hope for more private UAE listings follows Spinneys IPO The record-breaking interest in supermarket giant Spinneys’ upcoming listing on the Dubai Financial Market could start a rush of private listings in the UAE, industry experts have predicted. The country’s privatisation strategy has led to a raft of government-owned entities being listed on the Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock exchanges. Last year there were 48 […] May 2, 2024 Finance Borse Dubai to sell $1.6bn stake in Nasdaq State-owned Borse Dubai will sell nearly 27 million shares in the US stock exchange operator Nasdaq for $1.6 billion. The holding company for Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai will reduce its stake from 15.5 percent to 10.8 percent, or 62.4 million shares, making it the second largest shareholder in Nasdaq, the US bourse operator […] March 20, 2024 Posts navigation 1 2 … 4 Next
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 & 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
EXCLUSIVE Artificial Intelligence AI regulations double investment costs, says Mashreq Bank Differing rules surrounding artificial intelligence and the lack of a global regulatory environment is doubling the cost of new investments and complicating business expansion, a leading UAE financial institution has revealed. Amith Rajan, executive vice-president at Mashreq Bank, told AGBI that a “patchwork” AI regulatory landscape has prevented the bank from entering some countries, and […] July 11, 2024
Markets Fees and procedures make UAE IPOs more complex UAE companies seeking to go public must undertake complex and often costly procedures to complete an initial public offering, although fees remain reasonable by international standards because of competition among advisers, according to experts. This decade, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have part-privatised many government-owned companies, sparking an IPO flurry that runs counter to slowdowns in […] June 26, 2024
Construction Arada to part-fund projects from $400m sukuk The real estate developer Arada has raised $400 million through sukuk (Islamic bonds) to part fund its projects across the UAE. The sukuk order book reached $1.45 billion, 3.5 times oversubscribed, after strong demand from both regional and international investors. The fundraising is the first issuance under Arada’s newly established $1 billion sukuk programme, the […] June 12, 2024
Analysis Markets Hope for more private UAE listings follows Spinneys IPO The record-breaking interest in supermarket giant Spinneys’ upcoming listing on the Dubai Financial Market could start a rush of private listings in the UAE, industry experts have predicted. The country’s privatisation strategy has led to a raft of government-owned entities being listed on the Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock exchanges. Last year there were 48 […] May 2, 2024
Finance Borse Dubai to sell $1.6bn stake in Nasdaq State-owned Borse Dubai will sell nearly 27 million shares in the US stock exchange operator Nasdaq for $1.6 billion. The holding company for Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai will reduce its stake from 15.5 percent to 10.8 percent, or 62.4 million shares, making it the second largest shareholder in Nasdaq, the US bourse operator […] March 20, 2024
