Special Features
UAE Financial Markets Association Chief Points To Long-term Investment Opportunities In Real Estate Market
Mohammed Al Hashemi, President of UAE Financial Markets Association (FMA) has hinted that the UAE real estate sector and public listed companies offer the most potential for investors seeking long term investment opportunities.Commenting on the growth of trading volumes on the UAE financial markets in 2012 so far, Al Hashemi expected that this year would continue to see a significant upward trend across different sectors in the GCC, with the real estate and public sector leading the way in the UAE.
“We can see an upward trend and growth in different sectors in the GCC, particularly in the UAE, with trading volume expected to be higher this year compared to 2011,” said Al Hashemi.
“Market valuations seem to be at very attractive levels to invest in sound public listed companies, and the real estate market will also be a great investment opportunity in the long run for investors that have a three to five year horizon.”
Al Hashemi was speaking on the back of the 51st ACI Financial Markets World Congress, which recently took place for the first time in Dubai, and was hosted by the UAE FMA. Attracting more than 600 delegates from across the globe, the international congress put a spotlight on the emirate as a leading player in the global financial markets sector.
Established in December 2011, the UAE FMA is an affiliation of the Association Cambiste Internationale (ACI), the global umbrella body of the national financial markets associations around the world.
The first of its kind in the country, the UAE FMA was established to raise awareness about the financial markets in the UAE, providing a platform for banking and finance professionals from across the country to network and debate strategies to foster future growth.
“The UAE FMA is the country’s dedicated financial markets body that organises annual seminars and forums, allowing members to provide feedback to industry officials to enhance professional standards of financial markets and improve communications between other international financial bodies,” said Al Hashemi, adding that the organisation already has 200 members, and seven board members.
“The ACI Financial Markets World Congress was the first congress that we have hosted, and proved to be an astounding success, with very positive feedback from speakers and delegates alike. We now look forward to hosting many more similar conferences on an annual basis, and look forward to hosting the ICA Congress in 2014, which promises to be bigger than the ACI 2012 Congress.”
Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, The ACI Financial Markets World Congress was supported by the UAE Central Bank, Official Banking Partner EmiratesNBD, Gold Sponsor UBS, Silver Sponsor National Bank of Fujairah, Strategic Partner Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Official Media Partner, Bloomberg.
Other sponsors include 360t, 4CAST, ACI Indonesia, ADS Securities, BNP Paribas, Citi, Commerz Bank, Copp Clarke, DDCAP Ltd, Deal Hub, Deutsche Bank, DJ FX Trader, Gain GTX, ICA, ICAP, INTL FCStone, J.P. Morgan, Master Capital Group, MICEX-RTS Group, Saxo Bank, SEB, Standard Bank, Thomson Reuters and Wall Street.
