Dubai financial frenzy: Surge as investor accounts hit new record

Records have been broken — for all good reasons — on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) as the bourse has recorded a major uptick in new investor accounts.

Brokerage firms at the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) opened 57,054 new investor accounts in 2023. This marks an increase of 12.5 per cent over the previous year, according to data released by the DFM.

The listing of government and semi-government companies, as well as the increasing popularity of online trading, were key reasons for the growing demand, said the DFM.

In particular, the month of December saw 6,088 new accounts being opened, marking a 184 per cent year on year rise. The initial public offering (IPO) of the Dubai Taxi Corporation was a major driver for this surge, according to officials.

Taking a step back, the DFM highlighted how 29 brokerage firms executed over 3.83 million transactions in 2023, resulting in a 32.7 per cent increase compared to 2022’s 2.88 million.