Nasdaq Dubai’s market offers many benefits for companies that wish to IPO. The advantages of visibility and high standards of regulation apply to all types of listing on Nasdaq Dubai including Bonds and Sukuk, Exchange-traded Funds, exchange-traded commodities, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Derivatives. All products that are tradable on the exchange also benefit from its strong links to regional and international investors.
Flexibility
Maintain control of your company by selling as little as 25% of its shares when you list or more if you prefer. Certain other exchanges require a sale of more than 50%.
List without any foreign ownership restrictions imposed by the exchange (though UAE law restricting foreign ownership applies in some circ*mstances).
Choose between a book building process, which enables you to sell shares at their market value when you IPO, or a fixed price.
Sell some of your own shares in the IPO, as well as issue new shares. Certain other exchanges do not permit owners to sell their own shares in an IPO.
Global & Regional Branding
Leverage the ‘Nasdaq’ brand to support your international status.
Increase your exposure by ringing the Nasdaq opening or closing Bell in New York and advertise on Nasdaq’s dramatic video tower in Times Square.
Publicise your brand and trading symbol on Nasdaq Dubai’s and DFM’s trading platform and websites.
Sell some of your own shares in the IPO, as well as issue new shares. Certain other exchanges do not permit owners to sell their own shares in an IPO.
Investor Access
Link to investors in the region and across the world through nearly all the largest UAE brokers and largest global investment banks.
Large companies may be eligible to join the FTSE Nasdaq Dubai UAE 20 index, which is designed to attract international as well as regional investors.
Participate in investor conferences organised by the exchange and leading investment banks and other advisors.
Liquidity
Nasdaq Dubai shares are traded on the DFM platform, placing them in a pool of more than 70 companies listed on the two exchanges.
The platform links more than 500,000 registered DFM individual investors in the region with Nasdaq Dubai’s institutional investors around the world, providing deep liquidity.
The traded value of DP World, Nasdaq Dubai’s largest company, was the 4th highest of all companies listed on the two exchanges in 2011.
Unlike many other exchanges in the region, Nasdaq Dubai enables its listed companies to appoint brokers as market makers, which facilitate liquidity by maintaining both buy and sell orders simultaneously.
Regulation & Law
Nasdaq Dubai is regulated to international standards by the DFSA, the regulator in the DIFC free zone.
The company and commercial laws that govern the DIFC, and therefore Nasdaq Dubai, are based on principles of English common law and tailored to the needs of the region.
