- H.E. Essa Kazim: “DFM is constantly strengthening its attractiveness to foreign investments supported by the sound performance of the national economy, its lucrative and diversified opportunities as well as its world-class infrastructure and regulations”
- The DFM has attracted 2,627 new investors during the first nine months of 2016 including 418 institutions
- Arshad Ghafur (President MENA, Bank of America Merrill Lynch): “DFM remains a compelling focal point for global investors”
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) International Investor Roadshow organized in New York has been successfully concluded on Tuesday, 18 October 2016. The event included 76 one-on-one meetings between 33 international institutions and senior representatives from 10 listed companies on the DFM and NASDAQ Dubai and was organized with co-sponsorship from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML).
DFM has been committed to organizing roadshows as part of its endeavor to connect its listed companies with a growing and diversified group of international institutions. The exchange initiated the series of roadshows in London and New York in 2007 in a ground-breaking step amongst regional markets.
The conference clearly reflected the growing appetite amongst US-based international institutions to strengthen links with listed companies and learn about the most recent developments and growth prospects of these companies. Institutions present at the roadshow were not only New York-based but also included institutions from Boston and San Francisco.
The issuers that participated in the roadshow were; Air Arabia, Aramex, Damac Properties, DP World, DFM Company, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emaar Properties, Emirates REIT, Amlak Finance, and DXB Entertainments. Additionally, the event gave Afkar Capital the opportunity to highlight fundamentals and most recent developments of its ETF recently listed on DFM.
His Excellency Essa Kazim, Chairman of DFM said: “DFM is constantly reinforcing its attractiveness to foreign investments supported by the sound performance of the national economy, its lucrative and diversified opportunities as well as its world-class infrastructure and regulations. These elements have positioned DFM as the ideal gateway for international institutions to participate in the potential opportunities of one of the most dynamic and fast growing economies. The DFM has attracted 2,627 new investors during the first nine months of 2016 including 418 institutions, which provides clear evidence of local and international investors’ undisputed confidence in the market in spite of the global economy’s unfavourable circumstances.”
Arshad Ghafur, President MENA, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said: “While the regional macro picture remains challenged, the DFM remains a compelling focal point for the global investor community – a robust regulatory framework coupled with state-of-the-art infrastructure and technological innovation have allowed both the Emirate of Dubai and the DFM to maintain their preeminent position as a listing venue in the Emerging Market space. Bank of America Merrill Lynch remains committed to both the DFM primary and secondary markets, as evidenced by our dominant market position.”
Talal Ghandour, Head of MENA Equities, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said: "Exposure to Dubai's service-based economy remains coveted by Global Emerging Market fund managers, which is a testament to Dubai's diversified business model. Despite regional headwinds, investor sentiment towards Dubai remains positive. We have witnessed a material improvement in investors’ knowledge of Dubai’s listed corporates over the past four years that we have been running this conference, and the event continues to attract high quality investors. We look forward to continuing our successful joint partnership with DFM hosting this event in the future."
Commenting on the results of the roadshow, Fahima Al Bastaki, Executive Vice President, Head of Business Development Division, DFM said: “The roadshow witnessed tremendous interaction between listed companies and investment institutions, as 76 one-on-one meetings took place with representatives of 33 leading funds, with 50% of these institutions participating for the first time. This strongly indicates the roadshow’s success and international investors’ enthusiasm to further participate in our market. It also reflects listed companies’ inclination to update investors about recent successes as well as Dubai’s continuous progress as a dynamic capital markets hub. Undoubtedly, the collaboration between DFM and its issuers over the past years to embrace best practices of Investor Relations has come to fruition. We have been organizing numerous workshops and forums as well as publishing practical guides to explain IR best practices and emphasize on the importance of strengthening links with current and potential investors, in order to update them on recent developments and support their decision-making process.”
Senior executives of Dubai-listed companies commended the result of the event, stressing its significance at the top of their list of investor events annually due to the high level of attendees from institutions in the US.
Aramex: Ideal platform to update current and potential international investors on the performance of our business
Hussein Hachem, Chief Executive Officer of Aramex, said: "The DFM Roadshow is a key calendar event for Aramex. This annual meeting is an ideal platform for us to update our current and potential international investors on the performance of our business and provide insight on our outlook for future growth. The roadshow is also an important opportunity for us to hear feedback from the market, better understand how our business and brand are perceived amongst analysts and investors and discuss what factors may be impacting our share price. As we move forward with our growth strategy and sustaining value creation for all of our shareholders, we are continually looking for ways to enhance our investor relations program. We are confident that participating in international roadshows like this, is an integral component in further developing our IR program and maintaining close relationships with our current and future investors.”
Dubai Islamic Bank: DFM roadshows are key to attracting global investors
“The last few years have been full of volatility and uncertainty for investors across the globe”, said Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Group Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Islamic Bank. “Whilst external factors such as oil price and geopolitical events are outside our control, we believe that continuous engagement with the market is critical in shoring up confidence and building loyalty. At DIB, we have been deliberately and vociferously following a strategy of proactively reaching out to the local and international investor base. In today’s world, transparency and openness are critical; hence such roadshows by DFM are key to attracting and retaining global investors.”