IFA Securities in Dubai has become the latest victim of a decline in trading on the country's stock markets.
Emad Abbas, the operations manager at IFA, confirmed an earlier report that the brokerage was shutting down for a year and planned to reopen after a merger with another brokerage.
Mr Abbas declined to say with which company it was merging, but said it would be one in Dubai.
Officials at the brokerage's parent company, International Financial Advisors in Kuwait, could not be reached for comment.
IFA employs 13 people, according to Bloomberg.
A source at the company said the number of employees used to be "much more" but had been reduced after declines in trading on local exchanges led to a drop-off in business.
Average daily trading volumes on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) hovered between 300 million and 400 million shares last year, but have recently dropped to about 50 million shares, squeezing brokers' commissions.
The DFM General Index has lost about 73 per cent of its value in the past two years.
"Volumes are going down to levels now that are at historic lows in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and it's only natural that the brokerage companies will consolidate," said Saad al Chalabi, an institutional trader at AlRamz Securities in Abu Dhabi.
"Some will shut down altogether and others will consolidate with whoever's willing to consolidate. It's a natural process."
The IFA source said the company was forced to cease doing business by the regulator, the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), because of its merger plans.
In a report in May, the SCA said 11 brokerages in the UAE had closed this year, while three had ceased doing business last year.
There were still 91 active brokerages in May, according to the SCA report, a number many executives and analysts say is too high under the current circumstances.
Brokers in the UAE usually make 1.5 per cent of the value of trades. The total value of trading on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the DFM has fluctuated between Dh20 million (US$5.4m) and Dh100m in recent weeks.
@Email:afitch@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
