Dubai to list 10 state-owned companies as it seeks to increase stock market size to Dh3tn

A Dh2bn market-maker fund will also be created to increase liquidity in the local market

Traders at Dubai Financial Market. The emirate has taken steps to encourage listings. Pawan Singh / The National

Dubai plans to list 10 government and state-owned companies on the Dubai Financial Market as part of a broader strategy to double the financial market's size to Dh3 trillion ($816.7 billion).

The emirate's authorities also launched a market maker fund worth Dh2bn as it seeks to encourage listings from sectors such as energy, logistics and retail.

A fund worth Dh1bn will be formed to attract more technology companies to list in the local bourse and encourage innovative products, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, tweeted on Monday, following the first meeting of the Securities and Exchange Higher Committee.

"Dubai has a stock market, Nasdaq Dubai, and a gold and commodities exchange. We are the second largest Islamic sukuk centre in the world and the third highest country in diamond trading. We have one of the largest gold exchanges, we are the largest country to re-export tea and we have exchanges to trade these commodities. Our next stop will be to organise digital assets for the future," he tweeted.

The Securities and Exchange Higher Committee approved the formation of Dubai Markets Supervisory Committee and specialised courts for capital markets, Dubai Media Office said in a statement on Monday.

The committee will study a regulatory framework to attract new digital assets to operate from Dubai and will support Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors and reporting in operations.

The Dubai Markets Supervisory Committee will be chaired by Abdulla Al Ghafari and will be responsible for supervising, monitoring and protecting the rights of shareholders and investors, and improving transparency in the emirate's securities and commodities markets.

The committee also approved the formation of two specialised courts within the Commercial Court to settle securities disputes from January 2022. The courts will be dealing with both major and minor disputes based on the financial value of each case.