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A lot of chatter on the UAE’s stock markets: The recent surge in stocks listed on the Dubai Financial Market has drawn attention from Bloomberg, with the DFM experiencing its largest increase in three years on Friday, rising by 4.4% to reach its highest level since October 2014. The rise was driven mainly by Emaar Properties and its subsidiary Emaar Development, both of which saw their shares rise by the maximum allowed 15%. Emirates NBD also reached a record high.
Emaar Properties revealed plans to distribute 100% of its share capital in dividends for 2024 and subsequent years, and intends to establish a long-term dividend policy based on generated cash flows and projected operating cash flows.
The business information service’s Mideast Money newsletter also looked at recent disappointing IPO debuts in the GCC, despite large order books. These large IPOs are driven by a surge of local investors eager to avoid missing out, but this eagerness doesn’t necessarily reflect the quality of the investment decisions, head of the Mena ECM syndicate at the Bank of America, Andrew Briscoe, said. Talabat’s USD 2 bn IPO was the latest UAE offering to see its shares drop on their debut, falling 6.9% to AED 1.49 on the first day of trading.
IN OTHER NEWS- Increased dealmaking is giving a boost to law firms in the region: Bloomberg also took note of the recent onslaught of top law firms from New York, London, and Chicago expanding their operations in the GCC, driven by over USD 150 bn in transactions in the region this year. “It’s a healthy sign,” our friend Essam Al Tamimi, founder of Al Tamimi & Co, said, adding that rising competition is heating up the hunt for talent. Top law firms are already moving their high level execs to the region.
The boom has also meant that high ranking lawyers can now charge close to their peers abroad, people familiar with the matter said.
