Abdullah Salem Al Nuaimi, CEO of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, expects the listing of shares of two new companies before the end of this year.
In statements to reporters on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Financial Week, Al Nuaimi expected that the market would witness greater activity in new listings in 2024 compared to 2023.
Al Nuaimi said that this is due to the UAE economy achieving growth at higher rates than other regions in the world, and companies operating in the country achieving excellent rates of profitability and business results despite the current global economic challenges.
Al Nuaimi said that the current period of this year witnessed the listing of shares of 15 companies on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market with a value exceeding $4 billion, including companies operating in the sectors of the new economy and modern advanced technology. The market also witnessed an increase in the number of listings of green debt instruments to 5 listings.
Al Nuaimi pointed out that the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange launched an index for environmental, social and governance standards, in conjunction with the UAE’s preparations to host the United Nations COP28 Conference of the Parties on Climate Change.
This index, which is the first of its kind for the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, represents an important step to enhance sustainable investment practices in the region.
Al Nuaimi explained that the Abu Dhabi Securities Market index was prepared in cooperation with FTSE International Limited, known commercially as FTSE Russell, and was designed to provide investors with a reliable standard regarding corporate governance, social and environmental responsibility.
Al Nuaimi stated that the index is based on a number of standards within a comprehensive methodology to measure the adoption of public joint stock companies listed in the local financial markets for the best practices of governance and social and environmental responsibility.
Al Nuaimi said that there are 3 criteria for companies to join the index, which are the company’s market capitalization, the trading liquidity of the stock by calculating the arithmetic average of the last 20 trading days, and for the companies to achieve a level equal to or higher than the average achieved by the Gulf companies that have already joined the index.
Al Nuaimi confirmed that the index will initially include 24 companies listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market and included in the FTSE Abu Dhabi General Market Index, where all companies included within the scope of the index’s coverage are subject to an evaluation process with regard to following responsible environmental, social and governance practices, and the extent of the company’s commitment to them.
This was based on the companies’ announced disclosures on a number of topics, including carbon emissions, environmental product development, human rights, the company’s shareholders, and others, with performance being measured annually.
Al Nuaimi revealed that exchange traded fund (ETF) trading operations grew by 240 percent during the current year compared to the previous year.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Market witnessed an increase in the number of listings of green debt instruments, as it listed earlier in the week green sukuks for First Abu Dhabi Bank worth 1.3 billion UAE dirhams, which is the first and largest issuance of a green debt instrument denominated in dirhams.
Last month, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) listed green bonds worth US$750 million, preceded by the listing of green bonds worth US$1 billion by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa).
It was preceded last year by the listing of green bonds worth US$700 million by Sweihan Solar Photovoltaic Company.
