DUBAI, 25 September 2005 — Dubai’s new bourse will trade certificates tracking major European, US and Japanese stock indices when it opens next week, the exchange said on Friday.

The announcement means no companies have yet signed up to make their market debut on Monday when trading begins on the Dubai International Financial Exchange, a project officials hope will turn the Gulf Arab emirate into a major financial centre. The DIFX will trade certificates issued by Deutsche Bank AG tracking the US. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Europe’s blue-chip Dow Jones STOXX 50 and EURO STOXX 50 and Germany’s DAX, the statement said.

Dubai, trading hub of the United Arab Emirates, hopes foreign companies will be drawn to the DIFX by a promise of Western-style regulation and investors with an abundant supply of petrodollars.