AED85.7 billion, value of margin trading finance at Abu Dhabi

According to official figures from the Abu Dhabi and Dubai Securities Exchange, the value of margin trading finance reached AED85.7 billion in 2016, an increase of 12.7 percent from AED76 billion in 2015.

An analysis by Emirates News Agency, WAM, showed that the value of the margin trading finance, presented by brokerage companies to their clients, constituted 23.5 percent of the total value of all deals done in both markets. This reached a total of AED364 billion from both buying and selling at the end of 2016.

The growth in the percentage of financial facilitations came with sustained growth in the number of brokerage companies that provided the service, with 35 companies out of the total of 48 companies, working in the Abu Dhabi and Dubai security exchange markets during the past year.

Officials from the Higher Executive Management in both stock exchanges have agreed on the importance of the margin transaction service, which has become an important advanced investment product. It has contributed to the addition of other services and elevated the level of emerging markets under the 2013 Morgan Stanley Index.

Rashid Al Baloushi, CEO of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, said, "The margin trading services are now in huge demand from all sectors of investment, which explains its yearly growth." He added that during the last two years, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange made great efforts to diversify its investment products for companies and investors, and this has led to positive results from margin trading services on the work of brokerage companies.

He noted that the increase of the rates of circulation and provision of more investment products is essential to the work strategy in the markets with the aim of strengthening the competitive environment to practice businesses and develop the financial service sector.

Eisa Kazem, Chairman of Dubai Financial Market said that the Margin Trading Finance, which has been provided by the market since 2013, is seen as part of its efforts to rely on new diverse mechanisms to increase the activity of investors in the market. He underlined that the service had lots of demand during the last two years, with the increase of the number of certified brokerage companies to provide it.

The total value of margin trading finance in the Dubai Securities Exchange touched AED70.5 billion, which constituted 26.46 percent of the total of trading in the market for both buying and selling. The numbers of stocks that were funded by the service reached AED62.58 billion, which formed 29.41 percent of the total number of exchanged stocks at AED212.7 billion.

The value of margin trading finance in the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange reached AED15.2 billion, which formed 15.4 percent of the total value of the registered exchange in 2016. The numbers of stocks that were funded by the service were 15.5 billion for the duration of the count.