Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange Anticipates New Listing by Year-End
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) Group's CEO, Abdullah Salem Al Nuaimi, has voiced hope that before 2024 closes the market would witness a fresh listing.
This optimism arises amid ongoing excellent performance of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market, which he thinks will continue into the next year. Al Nuaimi presents Abu Dhabi as a vibrant hub for both regional and international investments based on the strong investor confidence in the financial sector of the city.
Al Nuaimi emphasized the four companies—Alef Education, NMDC Energy, ADNH Catering, and Lulu—whose market debuts so far this year—that have launched successful IPOs in 2024, Especially, Lulu's listing is quite important since it marks the ADX's 100th listing. This milestone emphasizes the importance of the market as a main platform for businesses trying to expand and draw investment both inside the UAE and abroad. Al Nuaimi underlined that Lulu's IPO was the ninth retail offer on the ADX and the 24th listing of the year, therefore indicating ongoing investor interest in the exchange.
Based on the funds generated through IPOs, the ADX has become somewhat well-known among the top six stock exchanges worldwide, Attracting three of the 20 biggest IPOs worldwide in 2023, the exchange demonstrated its significance in the worldwide financial markets, Demand is nearing a record Dh310 billion while the four IPOs in 2024 alone have generated around Dh12.3 billion in cash, With their market value of around Dh46.7 billion, these recently listed firms exhibit great investor confidence in Abu Dhabi's economic policies and the future possibilities of their listed companies.
Al Nuaimi also mentioned the increasing variety of products available on the ADX, which today comprises ETFs, The fifth ETF listing of the year and the fifteenth in the exchange's history was the recent listing of the "Chimera Standard & Poor's Germany Justus ETF, These listings fit Abu Dhabi's larger strategic goal of diversifying its economy and giving investors more options of products, With notable increase in trading volume and value in 2024, the ADX has evolved into a key market for ETFs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area.
Looking back on 2024, Al Nuaimi said the year was quite successful for the ADX, with new investment products introduced and a clear rise in the number of listings. Citing the listing of Lulu in the retail sector and the merger of Yahsat and Bayanat to create Space 42, which is now part of the technology sector, he noted that the exchange is still enhancing its sector offerings. Al Nuaimi also underlined how accessible the market is for twin listings with other international exchanges. Among such listings are those of Ooredoo, Sudatel, Americana, and Agility, all of which have enhanced the ADX's standing as a genuinely worldwide exchange.
Apart from improving its product range, the ADX is growing its worldwide network by means of the "Tabadul" platform, which links six stock exchanges including a recent alliance with the Armenian Stock Exchange, Through strategic access to new markets, this cooperation helps the ADX attract foreign investments, so empowering investors, Al Nuaimi disclosed intentions for platform expansion, with more exchanges expected to join not too far off.
With one product now on offer, the ADX is also moving forward in its ideas to grow the financial derivatives market, Al Nuaimi said that in 2025 the market plans to launch fresh derivative products in addition to ongoing efforts to diversify its listings stocks, ETFs, and other financial instruments, These advances show the ADX's continuous dedication to developing creative investment options that satisfy local and worldwide investors' expanding needs.