Egypt will keep pushing for Gaza peace, aid: PM    EGX ends week in green on Wednesday, July 23    Kibing Group plans $685m solar glass plant in Egypt's Sokhna – SCZONE chair    Remittances from Egyptians abroad surge 70% YoY in July–May: CBE    Sudan's ambassador to Egypt holds reconstruction talks on with Arab League    Egypt's current account gap narrows, but overall BoP records deficit    Egypt hosts international neurosurgery conference to drive medical innovation    Egypt, India discuss expanding industrial, investment partnerships    World Bank proposes Egypt join new global health initiative    Egypt's EDA discusses Johnson & Johnson's plans to expand investment in local pharmaceutical sector    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Egypt welcomes 25-nation statement urging end to Gaza war    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Famine kills more Gaza children as Israel tightens siege amid global outrage    Kuwait's Crown Prince, Egyptian minister discuss strengthening cooperation    Egyptian Drug Authority discusses plans for joint pharmaceutical plant in Zambia    Egypt's FM seeks deeper economic, security ties on five-nation West Africa tour    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    Egypt foils terrorist plot, kills two militants linked to Hasm group    Giza Pyramids' interior lighting updated with new LED system    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Dubai: Bridging time zones and boosting confidence
Published in Daily News Egypt on 14 - 01 - 2008

For the last seven years the emirate of Dubai has been operating a domestic stock exchange, as part of wider attempts to create a vibrant, diversified economy that supports a range of non-oil related activities. Although it experienced a sluggish start and was exposed to a Gulf-wide crash, the original exchange would now seem to have consolidated its position and, most significantly, has recently been joined by a Dubai-based international financial center and an international exchange. This has attracted much interest given its pioneering regulatory framework and its ability to bridge the time zones of other global stock exchanges.
Founded in March 2000, the Dubai Financial Market grew to list several dozen companies, most of which were Dubai and UAE-based. Despite the bursting of the Gulf bubble in early 2006 and the loss of over 50 percent on the value of most listed shares, by the close of 2007 the DFM was nevertheless still listing about 60 domestic companies and was reporting a respectable total market capitalization of about $350 billion. Importantly, in 2004 it was decided that this DFM would be complemented by a Dubai International Financial Exchange - a new stock exchange that would permit foreign nationals to own shares and therefore allow Dubai to absorb some of the surplus liquidity being generated by hydrocarbon-rich economies in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the region.
Crucially, in an effort to boost investor confidence, Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, then the crown prince of Dubai, announced that this DIFX would be housed in a financial free zone that would be unencumbered by local legislation, in much the same way as the free zones for foreign internet and media companies that he had established in 2000, and in the same way that his father had allowed foreign manufacturers to set up free zone headquarters at Jebel Ali since the mid-1980s. Moreover, it was decided that the DIFX would operate in a US dollar-denominated environment and that the free zone s regulatory framework would be based on English law, not least because the majority of Dubai nationals and expatriates in the Gulf with a financial background had been trained in the City of London.
Foreign experts were enlisted (from Standard Chartered and Julius Baer) to assist with the project, and in 2004 the Dubai Financial Services Authority was set up to administer the Dubai International Financial Center and its constituent DIFX. An impressive Arc de Triomphe-style headquarters building for the DIFC was constructed close to Sheikh Zayed Road and within months this gateway complex was home to a number of well-respected international financial institutions including KPMG, Swiss Private, Swiss International Legal, Merrill Lynch, and Credit Suisse.
Within the next few years, more banks, including Mirabaud and Volaw, are likely to open branches, with many citing the DIFC s impressive infrastructure, its solid reputation and its potential to serve as an alternative location to the City of London for Islamic banking products.
Indeed, the DIFC s location close to emerging markets in Muslim-dominated Pakistan and East Africa is thought to be ideal, as is its proximity and historic linkages to Bombay - a market that is likely to become enormous when the rupee becomes fully convertible and as India continues to liberalize its economy. Significantly, in the wake of the 2006 crash, the DIFX has begun to gain momentum, with many international firms believing that it will soon serve as an important way station between the time zones of the much higher volume stock exchanges in Europe and Asia.
Moreover, for domestic UAE companies, most notably Dubai s Emaar Properties (which became a 67 percent publicly owned company following its flotation), the DIFX would now seem to represent an important opportunity for both domestic growth and access to international markets.
Dr. Christopher Davidson is author of The United Arab Emirates: A Study in Survival and the shortly forthcoming Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success . This commentary is published by DAILY NEWS EGYPT in collaboration with bitterlemons-international.org.


Clic here to read the story from its source.