Dubai Financial Market (DFM) announced on Sunday the launch of a trading platform for exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the first of its kind in regional capital markets.
According to a statement issued on Sunday, the platform offers unprecedented levels of integration and provides ongoing support to the burgeoning ETF industry, particularly market makers, authorized participants and liquidity providers.
DFM hosted on Sunday a bell ringing ceremony to celebrate the launch of this platform in the presence of the chairperson of DFM, Essa Kazim; CEO of the Securities and Commodities Authority, Obaid Al Zaabi; as well as representatives of the leading global, regional, and local companies cooperating with DFM and Afkar Capital in the launch of the new platform, the statement read.
According to the press statement, DFM’s licensing of Al Ramz as an AP and of Beltone as a market marker, came under a new regulatory framework announced as part of DFM’s commitment to optimize its ETF trading platform—the first of its kind in the region to offer a high level of integration between its regulatory frameworks and operating mechanism.
Kazim said, “Dubai Financial Market is committed to its strategy of providing investors with a wide range of innovative products. Over the past few months, the market has approved a new set of regulations developed in collaboration with traders to serve as a foundation for its new ETF platform. This follows the 2016 launch of the Afkar S&P UAE UCITS ETF and underscores our drive to further diversify our product offering for both local and global investors.”
The statement added that the fund, which is listed on DFM—under the symbol “UAETF”—launched in June 2016. It is the first physical, in-kind, liquid, fully fungible, fully tradable, and transparent exchange-traded fund listed in the Middle East under the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) new regulations. UAETF offers single-click exposure to one of the world’s premier financial and commercial hubs by investing in three UAE markets: the Dubai Financial Market, the Abu Dhabi Exchange and NASDAQ Dubai.
