DUBAI, 8 March 2007 — Abdullah Salem Al-Turifi, chief executive officer of Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority, yesterday kicked-off the much awaited trading of shares of Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the world’s first Islamic stock market amid strong sentiments.
The listing ceremony was also attended by Essa Kazim, chairman of the DFM, along with board of directors and other senior management from DFM, Dubai Bank, lead manager of the IPO, and representatives of receiving banks. Senior representatives from the UAE Ministry of Economy also graced the occasion.
DFM Company is the 50th company to list its shares on the market. The shares began trading yesterday under the trading symbol “DFM” that will henceforth appear on the screens, trading systems and publications.
Speaking on the occasion, Abdullah Salem Al-Turifi, chief executive officer of Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority, praised the step taken by DFM to launch IPO and considered it as one of the cornerstones of further reforms in the UAE’s financial market.
“Listing itself is a value addition to all public joint-stock companies who would like to comply with all prevailing rules and regulations. A listing certainly adds more credibility and reinforces a special status in the market. DFM’s successful debut is a signal listing for other financial institutions and intermediaries who should take a leaf out of it,” he said.
He added: “The UAE capital markets have an integrated and high-tech infrastructure that facilitates transparency, disclosure and corporate governance. In this respect, the UAE capital market is fast emerging as an attractive destination for investors across the world.”
Essa Kazim, chairman of DFM said: “The response generated from across the world for DFM’s IPO has put that extra responsibility on all of us at DFM. Today with the start of trading of shares, we have entered a new era for DFM as a company. DFM will always be looked beyond providing depth to the market and an alternate portfolio investment to investors. In this context, it will be our endeavour to further improve our performance and go that extra mile in providing value to all our stakeholders.”
DFM’s paid up capital is AED 8 billion consisting of as many shares. The company recently launched its IPO and offered 20 percent or 1.6 billion shares to the public.
