Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange participates in China Investment Conference 2016

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), has highlighted the attractive investment environment that the UAE and Abu Dhabi offer during its participation at the China Investment Conference 2016, which recently concluded in Shanghai.

The conference’s agenda included the discussion of the Chinese Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative and the UAE’s role in its implementation as well as looking into the investment opportunities available in the UAE and Abu Dhabi.

The participants also discussed the means to reinforce co-operation between Abu Dhabi-based financial and economic institutions and those based in China, in addition to presenting the opportunities that ADX provides and the great achievements that have been made in more than a decade.

The participation of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in the forum comes as part of its contributions to the fulfilment of the emirate’s objectives to promote the competitive environment of doing business in the UAE and attract investments. This participation also comes as part of the exchange’s commitment to Abu Dhabi’s plan which aims to achieve a financial system that supports the development process in Abu Dhabi by means of developing the financial services sector in the Emirate.

Speaking about its participation, Rashed Al Blooshi, CEO of ADX, said that the UAE and China enjoy a strong relationship, and the two sides are keen on reinforcing their mutual co-operation in economy and investment over the coming period. He said the value of trade between the two countries has reached AED257 billion last year.

He invited the Chinese investors to invest in the ADX as it offers huge opportunities and substantial benefits to the investors. He added that the value of institutional and foreign investment in the exchange has reached AED7 billion during the first half of 2016. The number of Chinese investors has reached 251, of which 12 are institutions. On the other hand, the value of the trading activities of those investors has reached over AED600 million between 2014 and 2015 while their net investment hit the AED367 million mark.

Al Blooshi pointed out that the market value of the companies’ shares that are traded in the exchange has reached approximately AED450 billion by the end of July, whereas the net profits made by the companies exceeded AED17 billion in the first half of the same year.

He said that the UAE is considered a major player in the implementation of the "Chinese Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative" and the "21st Century Maritime Silk Route" that aim to facilitate commercial and investment exchange, reinforce diplomatic relationships between the countries of central and south Asia, Africa and Europe, reinforce growth opportunities along the ancient "Silk Route" that used to link the Arab and Chinese cultures together over the last decades.

Al Blooshi explained that the UAE maintains strong relationships with China which is considered its second biggest commercial partner with commercial trading of AED257 billion in 2015. While the UAE represents a point of access for nearly 60 percent of the Chinese exports into the region in general.

China was ranked first with respect to non-oil exports through the Emirate of Abu Dhabi with a total value of AED1.82 billion during the first three months of 2016 with a record increase of 131.4 percent compared to AED784.7 million during the same period of 2015.

Al Blooshi said that with respect to the foreign and institutional investment in the ADX, the net investment of this category of investors has reached nearly AED7 billion during the first half of the current year, which reflects the degree of attractiveness that the exchange enjoys and the huge returns that could be obtained through investment.