ADX joins business leaders and global investors at 8th Annual EFG Hermes London Conference

LONDON, 10th September, 2018 (WAM) — Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) announced today its participation in the 8th annual EFG Hermes London Conference, the biggest MENA and frontier emerging markets (“FEM”) investor event held in the UK, to a record attendance of global investors and senior executives.

ADX’s participation comes in line with its strategy to promote its sustainable economic growth and present global investors with the latest updates regarding its infrastructural and regulatory enhancements. The EFG Hermes London Conference presents a unique opportunity for investors and fund managers representing US$12 trillion in aggregate assets under management to directly meet senior executives from ADX-listed companies and others based in MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia.

“EFG Hermes takes pride in its role to bridge the gap between global capital and opportunities in high-growth markets in and beyond MENA,” said EFG Hermes Holding Group CEO Karim Awad. “ADX’s participation in the conference with a high profile delegation representing the market’s senior management comes in line with their comprehensive agenda to reach out to the global investment community.”

“It is important for global investors to gain first-hand insights into regional markets’ continuous regulatory and technological enhancements that are starting to reshape investments in 2018. As the world’s third exchange – and the first in MENA – to implement blockchain technology for listed companies, and e-voting in AGMs, ADX is at the forefront of this evolution,” added Awad.

Chief Executive of ADX, Rashed Al Blooshi, said, “EFG Hermes boasts a successful track record that is grounded in unparalleled knowledge of the region, its business climate and its opportunities, making it the ideal host of this conference. This is why ADX thanks EFG Hermes for affording it an active participation in the highly anticipated conference. It is in line with ADX’s long-term strategy of promoting Abu Dhabi and the UAE to a wider range of international and domestic investors, who can benefit from its competitive yet friendly business environment.”

He added, “The UAE market is a promising one and provides ample opportunity for investors, as evidenced by the country’s top ranking regionally and eighth globally in the 2017 Index of Economic Freedom. This reiterates ADX’s continuous efforts to strengthen the business climate, attract investment, provide a stable environment and foster a flexible and competitive environment for business, based on global best practices in disclosure, transparency and corporate governance.”

Al Blooshi pointed out that the number of foreign investors in the Exchange amount to 40%, where 897 institutional and 2116 individual investors are from the UK with a market value of shares amounting to US$1.53 billion as of first half of 2018. These numbers are a testament to ADX’s strong standing on the list of preferred destinations for regional and global portfolios.

He added, “The shareholders of ADX listed companies have benefited from their presence in ADX, after the exchange recorded one of the highest dividend yields in the world at 5.8%; resulting in an increase of more than AED23.4 billion in cash dividends for listed companies in 2018, amounting to an increase of 5.5% from the previous year. This strengthens the Exchange’s position as a preferred listing destination and underscores its success in providing a conducive investment climate and a stable trading environment for investors and listed companies.”

In addition to exchange’s management, the 8th annual London Conference will witness the participation of C-suite executives of ADX-listed equities representing key sectors such as industrials, healthcare, real estate & hospitality, energy, telecommunications and consumer staples.

“We are delighted to have ADX take an active role in this year’s conference,” said Mohamed Ebeid, Co-CEO of the Investment Bank at EFG Hermes. “We consider ADX to be one of the most important markets in which we operate, due to its management’s constant drive to attract liquidity, sustain a healthy investment environment and apply global best practices and standards.”

“While FEM markets in general have no shortfall in challenges ahead for the future, they also present a wealth of prospects for the investment community; and The EFG Hermes London Conference is an exclusive opportunity for investors to deepen their connections with and knowledge of these markets through direct meetings with C-suite executives representing multiple industries and sectors,” added Ebeid.