Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) has held an Asian non-deal roadshow with key institutional investors and exchanges in Hong Kong and Tokyo to discuss the vibrant UAE investment landscape.
The meetings, which complement a virtual roadshow held in September-2022, were organized in partnership with Mizuho and included engagement by the ADX senior leadership team with a range of asset managers, hedge funds, and family offices with Assets Under Management over 41.3 trillion. Investment activity on ADX from investors based in these two Asian markets has increased significantly in the last year, with the total volume of securities up 42% during 2022, and the number of trades up 143%.
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During the roadshow, ADX also exchanged views and experiences with the attending members of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Tokyo Exchange Group. These events follow successful international investor roadshows in 2022 and reinforce the strong focus on investor relations and continuous dialogue that ADX and its listed companies continue to foster with international investors.
Saeed Hamad Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ADX, said: “ADX will continue to significantly step up its engagement with global institutional investors to widen its investor base and showcase the UAE as a premier investment destination. The Exchange outperformed most markets globally in 2022 due to robust macro-economic fundamentals, and an increase in capital market activity. The ADX has taken a series of measures and initiatives to develop the investment ecosystem including roadshows that have attracted strong interest among a wide range of international institutional investors.”
Yoshiro Hamamoto, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd., said: “The arrangement of ADX’s Asian investor roadshow represents a significant milestone in Mizuho’s journey to becoming the leading financial institution delivering investment from all over the world into the United Arab Emirates. As the first Japanese bank to establish a presence in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, along with our established presence in the Dubai International Financial Centre, we maintain a long-standing commitment to supporting the UAE’s economic growth and diversification initiatives. We are focused on enhancing strategic investment from regions where Mizuho has partnered with its strong securities and banking relationships in assisting with this roadshow. We congratulate the ADX management team on the success of the roadshow and we look forward to further enhancing our strong partnership.”
This roadshow was held against a backdrop of significant activity on ADX in 2022 which has seen increased participation from international and institutional investors – including on IPOs, listings, and new product launches. Last year, ADX listed 25 securities including five IPOs.
The meetings focused on recent capital market activity and the ongoing implementation of the ADX strategy to increase liquidity, trading activity, market capitalization, and sector diversification. The strategy leverages digital transformation to enhance the investor journey and the broadening of products and services, including the introduction of derivatives and SPACs as well as more ETF listings.
During 2022, net foreign investment on ADX increased by AED 23.5 billion, and foreign ownership of securities on the exchange reached 17.5% of the total, up from 14% as of the end of 2021. Foreign investment in ADX was led by MENA-based investors, with a 44% share, followed by Europe & the UK (31%), the Americas (15%), and Asia (10%). Institutional trading activity accounted for 82% of total trades in 2022.
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