Taylor Scott International News
DFM hits five-year high on bourse merger report Agencies / 3 October 2013 The Dubai stock index climbed to the highest in almost five years, led by the Dubai Financial Market, after reports that the emirate and Abu Dhabi have hired banks for a possible merger of their bourses. The DFM General Index gained 2.67 per cent to 2,829.53 points, the strongest close since November 2008. The measure has climbed 22 per cent from a two-month low in September, entering a bull market. The Abu Dhabi market rose 0.64 per cent to 3,861.79 points. The shares of the DFM, the only publicly traded exchange in the region, surged 15 per cent, the most in four months. Dubai Investments also soared 15 per cent, the most since 2009. “Abu Dhabi and Dubai aim to reach an agreement on the merger of the exchanges by the end of the year,” Reuters reported. In April 2012, Abdullah Al Turaifi, chief executive officer of the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), said the owners of the bourses may “hopefully” decide by the end of that year on whether to consolidate their operations. “The DFM isn’t party to any merger talks,” the company said in a statement posted on the bourse website. A Reuters report citing sources said Abu Dhabi has hired US investment bank JP Morgan Chase and First Gulf Bank to advise on the merger. One source said Abu Dhabi’s mandate came from the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the top policy-making body in the emirate. Investment Corporation of Dubai, the flagship holding company which owns stakes in many of Dubai’s top entities, including DFM’s parent, Borse Dubai, has hired Citigroup to advise on the matter, according to the sources. Taylor Scott International
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