Dubai’s DFM announces programme to encourage listings from private businesses

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) has announced an incentives programme to encourage new initial public offerings (IPOs) and listings from private sector companies across several economic sectors.

The programme encompasses incentives including financial support to the cost of private companies’ IPOs on DFM’s main market and listing on the second market as well as post-listing support through participation in DFM’s international roadshows regionally and globally, and a three years’ waiver on listing fees, AGM fees and dividend distribution fees too, official news agency WAM reported.

Via the programme, the DFM seeks to attract companies operating across sectors that are substantially contributing to the economy, namely technology, transport and logistics, healthcare, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and agritech.

DFM announced an incentives program to encourage new Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and listings from private sector companies representing numerous rapidly growing economic sectors that strongly contribute to the GDP as well as the new-economy related companies. pic.twitter.com/Ubqw4bAbfC

— Dubai Financial Market (@DFMalerts) November 16, 2021

Hamed Ali, CEO of DFM and Nasdaq Dubai, said: “The new incentive programme stems from our commitment at DFM to become a platform that accelerates the growth of the private sector. Moreover, attracting new IPOs will provide DFM’s global network of investors from over 208 nationalities with new investment opportunities.”

The programme is the latest in a series of initiatives undertaken by the emirate to deepen its financial markets, including the recent launch of a Dhs1bn support fund to encourage tech companies to list on Dubai markets.

Read: New Dhs1bn fund to support tech startups in Dubai

Dubai recently announced that it would list 10 government and state-owned companies on DFM as part of a strategy to accelerate new listings in various sectors including energy, logistics and retail.

Read: Dubai announces listing of 10 govt, state-owned companies on DFM

It was also revealed that utility Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) will be listed locally in the “coming months”.

Read more: Dubai announces plans to list utility DEWA in the ‘coming months’

To incentivise trading, DFM waived the minimum trading commission from September 1.

Read more: Dubai Financial Market scraps minimum trading commission from Sep 1

DFM also extended trading time to five hours daily as of October 3.