Traders work on the floor of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. File/ Reuters

According to the monthly newsletter covering Arab financial markets published today by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) recorded the highest increase in trading value among Arab financial markets in May 2022 at 292.64 percent while the Palestine Exchange topped the list in terms of trade volume increase.

The AMF noted that the return of activity of initial public offerings (IPO) have boosted the performances of Arab financial markets in May 2022, increasing the value of overall trading to nearly $107.22 billion.

The AMF’s composite index of Arab capital markets recorded a decrease of 1.29 percent at the end of May 2022 compared with the end of April 2022, reaching some 502.73 points.

The market value of Arab markets recorded a slight decrease by 0.6 percent, amounting to $5.168 billion, at end of May 2022.

The Beirut Stock Exchange topped Arab exchanges in terms of market capitalisation gains with an increase of 39.50 percent, reflecting the rise in trading activity in the banking sector.

Arab exchanges recently continued their efforts to expand their scope through new offerings, most notably the IPO of “Borouge” on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange, which is the largest initial offering in the history of the market and recorded total proceeds of some $2 billion, supporting the market’s activity.

Concerning the value of trading in Arab exchanges, May 2022 witnessed an increase in the value of trading of Arab financial markets listed in the AMF’s database by 36.45 percent compared with the end of April 2022, which is due to increased trading in six Arab stock exchanges. However, eight Arab exchanges witnessed declines in their trading during the same period.

The trading volume of Arab exchanges increased by some 3.61 percent in May 2022, reflecting the rise in the trading volumes of seven Arab exchanges while eight Arab exchanges recorded declines in their trading at the end of May 2022.

In terms of market value, financial markets recorded a slight decrease of about 0.63 percent at the end of May 2022 compared to the end of April 2022, reaching a value of $5.168 billion.

Meanwhile,, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange’s (ADX) market capitalisation is on course to reach Dh3 trillion mark this year after it Dh2 trillion for the first time earlier this week, say analysts

Abu Dhabi bourse’s market cap crossed the Dh2 trillion mark following the completion of Borouge initial public offerings (IPO) listing last week, the largest-ever listing on ADX and the largest for a petrochemical company in the Middle East.

The increase in ADX’s market cap is attributed to a spate of IPOs in the last few quarters including Abu Dhabi Ports, Fertiglobe, Adnoc Drilling, Alpha Dhabi and Multiply Group.

The UAE capital bourse has recorded a 25 per cent increase in its market cap till June 6.

In April, ADX rebranded its “Second Market” to the “Growth Market” to accelerate Abu Dhabi’s fast-developing ecosystem for emerging companies.

The advances in the exchange’s market cap came on the heels of a bumper year in 2021, when its market cap more than doubled to Dh1.6 trillion from Dh750 billion. That followed several new listings on the Growth Market, including Palm Sports, Zee Stores and Easy Lease, three subsidiaries of IHC, and an Exchange Traded Fund.

On Tuesday, ADX closed 0.31 per cent lower at 9,696.8 points in line with the decline in most of the regional bourses and global bourses due to inflation fears.

The significant milestone has been supported by ‘ADX One,’ the exchange’s strategy to enhance liquidity through listing incentives, trading fees reductions and rolling out innovative products and services. The exchange’s benchmark index, the FTSE ADX General Index, has gained 16% this year, making it one of the best performing stock markets worldwide.

Since the launch of ‘ADX One’ at the beginning of 2021, the exchange has developed several new initiatives to boost market liquidity, including the introduction of a derivatives market in the fourth quarter of 2021. This was followed by an agreement with FTSE Russell to develop co-branded indices, including a tradable version of the FTSE FADX 15 Index that will be launched in 2022. The exchange has also established a framework for listing Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) on ADX, approved by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) in January.

The advances in the exchange’s market capitalization come on the heels of a bumper year in 2021, when its market capitalization more than doubled to Dhs 1.6 trillion from Dhs 750 billion. That followed several new listings on the Growth Market, including Palm Sports, Zee Stores and Easy Lease, three subsidiaries of IHC, and an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).  Previously known as the Second Market, the Growth Market was rebranded in April to accelerate Abu Dhabi’s fast-developing ecosystem for emerging companies.