Brokerage companies in the Dubai Financial Market added 20,552 new investor accounts in the first seven months of 2022. The market also witnessed significant momentum since the announcement of the listing of 10 governmental and semi-governmental companies, including the Dubai Electricity and Water Company (DEWA), the TECOM Group, and Union Coop.

The number of new accounts in the Dubai Financial Market grew significantly by over 287 per cent during the first seven months of this year, compared to 5,306 new accounts in the same period in 2021.

According to related data, companies added 2,349 new accounts in July; 2,850 in June; 2,468 in May; 4,258 in April; 4,401 in March; 3,231 in February; and 995 in January.

BHM Capital Financial Services acquired the largest share of new investor accounts during this period, totalling 3,471; followed by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Securities with 2,855; then Emirates NBD Securities with 2,731; ADCB Securities with 1,369 accounts; International Securities with 1,192 accounts; and EFG Hermes with 1,081 accounts.

The 27 brokerage firms in the Dubai Financial Market executed over 1.41 million deals during the first seven months of this year, trading 40 billion shares valued at Dhs98.25 billion.

The Dubai Financial Market has announced recently its consolidated financial results for the first half of the year ended 30th June 2022, posting a 63% increase in its net profit to Dhs63.4 million compared to Dhs38.8 million during the corresponding period of 2021.

The net profit of the second quarter of 2022 increased by 134% to Dhs35.9 million compared to Q2- 2021’s level of Dhs15.3 million.

The Company’s total consolidated revenue reached Dhs163.8 million in H1-2022 compared to Dhs136.6 million during H1-2021. The revenue comprised of Dhs121.4 million of operating income and Dhs42.4 million of investment income & others.

The Company’s expenses amounted to Dhs100.4 million compared to Dhs97.8 million recorded during H1-2021. During the second quarter of 2022, the Company’s revenue reached Dhs85.2 million compared to Dhs63.2 million in the second quarter of 2021, while expenses amounted at Dhs49.3 million compared to Dhs47.9 million during Q2-2021.

Commenting on the announcement, Helal Al Marri, DFM Chairman, said, “The DFM has witnessed a positive performance driven by the increasing interest from various market participants and the deep confidence in its prospects in light of the accelerating steps to implement Dubai’s financial markets development strategy. During the first half, the DFM welcomed the listing of (DEWA), the largest initial public offering in the UAE financial markets’ history.

“Additionally, our product diversification strategy gained further momentum by launching trading of Oman Crude Oil Futures as well as new equity futures contracts. The first half also witnessed the accomplishment of key initiatives to develop the regulatory framework through the introduction of the listing and trading rules of cooperatives and special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), which strengthens DFM ability to attract more listings and diversify investment opportunities.”

Al Marri added that the total trading value increased by 75% during the first half of 2022 to Dhs49.4 billion from Dhs28.2 billion during the same period of the year 2021, while the total market capitalisation of listed securities increased 28.2% to Dhs527 billion compared to end of 2021 level of Dhs411 billion.

The DFM maintained its attractiveness to international investors, who accounted for 47% of its trading value during the first half with net purchases of Dhs2.6 billion and their ownership reached to 19.8% of the total market capitalisation by the end of June 2022.

The institutional investors accounted for 53.6% of the trading value, which reflects local and international investors’ confidence in the market.

DFM has attracted 70,432 new investors during the first half of this year compared to 1,842 investors, up 38 times compared to its level at the end of the corresponding period of last year, bringing total number of investors to 921,550 investors from 212 countries at the end of June 2021. International investors accounted for 72% of the new investors. Additionally, the DFM has onboarded 426 new institutional investors during the first half, including 303 foreign institutions.

The Dubai Financial Market last month held a roadshow in London. The Dubai Financial Market International Investor Roadshow 2022 has successfully attracted numerous leading global investment institutions. The event conveyed a strong message on the profound confidence of international investors towards Dubai financial markets’ prospects as well as their enthusiasm to take their robust presence steps farther in the future.