Dubai’s capital markets are playing a pivotal role in advancing the Emirate’s ambition of becoming a global top 4 financial hub, with foreign investor participation now a defining feature of market activity.
A new report launched by HSBC in the UAE highlights how the fast-moving internationalization of Dubai’s equity and debt capital markets, combined with an expansive structural reform agenda, are bringing the city closer to its goal of being recognized among the world’s top financial hubs, as outlined in the D33 economic vision.
“The sheer pace of change driving Dubai’s capital markets growth requires consistent and clear guidance for new investors, particularly as an accelerating influx of institutional capital from right across the investment spectrum seeks to navigate and harness the region’s dynamic opportunities,” stated Mohamed Al Marzooqi, CEO, UAE, HSBC Bank Middle East.
DFM’s appeal to foreign players grows
The report explores the broadening and internationalization of Dubai’s equity capital markets, including potential enhancements to secondary market deal flow and liquidity, and the technological initiatives to strengthen the financing ecosystem.
Between 2016 to 2024, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) provided investors with higher returns than the broader MSCI EM Index, achieving a 4.9 annualized U.S. dollar return compared to 2.8 percent for the broader emerging markets index.
Foreign investors accounted for half of all trading on the DFM at the end of 2024 and represented 85 percent of all investors that registered with the DFM in 2024, reflecting Dubai’s international appeal.
In 2024, the number of wealth and asset managers operating in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) also rose 16 percent year-on-year to 410, including 75 hedge funds, of which 48 have more than $1 billion under management, underscoring the changing shape of international investors.
World’s largest tech IPO
In 2024, Dubai also accounted for 2.2 percent of global IPO volumes and hosted the world’s largest tech IPO of the year, Talabat.
“Dubai has opened up new pathways for issuers and investors across equity and debt capital markets. IPOs have been enjoying strong, often record-breaking demand, while its leading DCM hub status is providing an expanding universe of issuers with comprehensive options to raise funding in both foreign and the local currency,” added Samer Deghaili, co-head of investment banking, Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye, HSBC.
Read: 14 MENA IPOs raise $2.4 billion in Q1 2025, proceeds surge 106 percent
Dubai’s markets attract key Asian issuers
The report also noted that Dubai’s debt capital markets are not only flourishing for its own credit universe, but for the world’s, underpinned by an expanding DCM universe of local and international issuers.
With one of the most developed debt capital markets in the MENA region, Nasdaq Dubai’s growth as a global listing venue is encouraging more international issuers to bring deals to the Middle East, especially from Asia. For instance, Chinese corporations are increasingly turning to Dubai, with over $22 billion in debt on the exchange at the end of 2024.
Dubai’s attractiveness as a listing destination is further underscored by the fact that non-UAE fixed income issuers accounted for a full 45 percent of fixed income listings outstanding on the exchange in 2024. The UAE credit universe also had an active 2024, ranking as the third-largest dollar debt issuers from the emerging markets, excluding China.
Last year saw the value of outstanding Sukuk listed across Nasdaq Dubai and DFM reach $97.8 billion. In addition, sukuk issuance across all currencies rose 42 percent year-on-year to $4.71 billion in Q1 2025, accounting for 76 percent of all debt capital market activity on Nasdaq Dubai during the period.
