In order to foster bilateral cooperation and to provide advanced, innovative services and facilities development to the business community in the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq)

The agreement is in line with ADX’s strategy towards promoting growth and ensuring sustainability of the financial services sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It is also part of the exchange’s ongoing efforts to cooperate with economic entities throughout the emirates with the aim of enhancing the business environment in the financial markets field.  

The MoU serves to stimulate the conversion and listing of existing economic establishments in the Emirate of Sharjah to ADX, while also strengthening levels of cooperation between the two parties in the field of providing investor services. In addition, the partnership with Shurooq will play a key role in supporting business establishments in Sharjah with more dynamic and faster conversion processes into public or private joint stock companies, as well as listing them on ADX through the “One-Stop-Shop” service.

The agreement outlines the necessary mechanisms to follow in order to streamline the process of obtaining the necessary approvals for completing the conversion and listing. Moreover, the MOU also aims to simplify the stages of conversion and listing procedures which will save time and effort required.  In order to implement the agreement, the two parties agreed to form a working group that will carry out the objectives of the memorandum and promote joint cooperation initiatives.

Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal said: “The MoU between Shurooq and ADX reinforces our mission to encourage and support investment opportunities for local companies by going public and entering UAE’s stock market, which is an ultimate catalyst for new business growth and increased competitiveness.”

He continued: “Such opportunities also promote and encourage positive corporate governance principles such as transparency and integrity, as well as empower a more strategic acquisition and distribution of assets and funds across a wide range of sectors which directly support Sharjah’s economic diversification strategy as well as UAE’s continued economic growth and sustainability.”

Commenting on the signing, Chief Executive of ADX, Saeed Hamad Al Dhaheri, said: “ADX is delighted to sign this MoU with Shurooq, as it will create new opportunities to promote further cooperation and synergy between the two entities in various fields. We are sure investors will benefit from improved access to capital to fund their strategic ambitions and growth plans under our well-established market and regulatory infrastructure, facilitating the ease of listing of a variety of asset classes. Abu Dhabi is becoming increasingly successful in attracting a more diverse range of investment firms and investor profiles, supported by the exchange’s growing liquidity, raising foreign ownership limits, customer focus and robust and transparent regulations.”

It is worthy to note that ADX has recently launched its latest investment service “Covered Short Selling”, to support the exchange’s strategy of diversifying investment and providing investors with a broader range of hedging mechanisms. By doing so, it will attract a new segment of specialized and experienced investors, driving both liquidity and trading volumes.

During the signing the ceremony, Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi, Chairman of ADX witnessed the signing of this agreement between Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal, Executive Chairman of Shurooq and Saeed Hamad Al Dhaheri, Chief Executive Officer of ADX.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) was established on November 15 of the year 2000 by Local Law No. (3) Of 2000, the provisions of which vest the market with a legal entity of autonomous status, independent finance and management.  The Law also provides ADX with the necessary supervisory and executive powers to exercise its functions. On 17th March 2020, ADX was converted from a “Public Entity” to a “Public Joint Stock Company PJSC” pursuant to law No. (8) of 2020. ADX is part of ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies with a broad portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy.

ADX is a market for trading securities; including shares issued by public joint stock companies, bonds issued by governments or corporations, exchange traded funds, and any other financial instruments approved by the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA).