Foreigners acquire 15.4% of the shares of Emirati banks

The number of shares held by foreign investors in 14 Emirati banks out of a total of 18 banks listed on the Abu Dhabi and Dubai financial markets reached about 8.12 billion shares.

According to the Emirates News Agency, this number represents approximately 15.4% of the total capital of these banks, amounting to 52.8 billion dirhams, at the end of May 2020.

The figures issued by the financial markets show the continued appetite of foreign investors to invest in the banking sector since the beginning of this year, which reflects the great confidence that it has in the circles of this segment of investors Whether they are institutions or individuals.

The banking sector is considered one of the largest sectors listed in the financial markets, and it is the most distributed dividend to shareholders, which makes it a distinct target for the foreign investor to achieve the maximum amount of returns compared to With other sectors.

The profits of national banks during the year 2019 rose to about 46.47 billion dirhams, a growth of 11.6% compared to 41.63 billion dirhams in 2018.

The value of the cash dividends to shareholders exceeded 19 billion dirhams, which constituted approximately 51% of the total dividends approved by all companies listed in the financial markets.

In detail, the number of shares held by foreigners in ten banks traded on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange reached 6.38 billion shares, constituting 17.1% of their total capital amounting to 37.2 One billion shares.

The size of foreign ownership in Abu Dhabi Bank reached about 1.81 billion shares of the bank’s total capital of 10.92 billion shares, while the number of shares they hold in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank reached 990 million Shares and about 969 million shares in the United Arab Bank and 851 million shares in Commercial International Bank and the value of ownership of the side in the capital market was distributed to shares of Sharjah Islamic Bank, Sharjah Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Umm Al Quwain National and Ras Al Khaimah National and Investment.

On the level of foreign ownership in the shares of the four banks listed on the Dubai Financial Market, they amounted to 1.006 billion shares in Dubai Islamic Bank, about 631 million shares in Emirates NBD and 95 One million shares in Ajman Bank and 6 million shares in Mashreq Bank.