Dubai plans to list 10 state firms in bid to reverse falling trade

Dubai plans to list 10 state firms in bid to reverse falling trade

Bloomberg / Dubai

Dubai plans to offer stakes in 10 state-owned companies in what may prove to be a test of confidence in a stock market dogged by falling volumes at a time when regional rivals are stepping up sales.

The emirate will sell the shares as part of a move aimed at boosting trading volumes on the city’s financial markets to 3tn dirhams ($817bn), the Dubai media office said in a tweet late Monday without elaborating. It didn’t name the companies or provide a timeline for the offerings.

The Dubai Financial Market has suffered a slide in trading, with volumes falling in three of the past four years, as a string of companies delisted at a time of declining liquidity and stock prices, while the Covid-19 pandemic has hurt the city’s lifeblood tourism and real estate industries. Meantime, new listings in other Middle East financial hubs such as Abu Dhabi and Riyadh are attracting a flood of cash.

“More government listings might help DFM trading volumes pick up, similar to Abu Dhabi, but the question remains why more private sector corporates do not see the DFM as a useful avenue to raise finance,” said Hasnain Malik, the Dubai-based head of