The leading regional exchange welcomes its first ever Omani listing
Dubai Financial Market (DFM) today announced the listing of Al Jazeera Steel Products Co., incorporated in Oman. Company shares began trading on Thursday, December 18, 2008, under the trading symbol “ATMI†within the materials sector, which will appear on DFM screens, trading systems and publications.
Al Jazeera Steel Products Co is the first Omani public joint stock company to list in DFM, the market of choice for leading regional companies, the first regional stock market to go public and the pioneer Islamic Sharia compliant exchange in the world.
The listing of Al Jazeera Steel brings the total number of securities listed on the DFM to 73, including 65 public shareholding companies. Rashid Al Shamsi, Vice Chairman of Dubai Financial Market; Mohamed A Moosa, Chairman of Al Jazeera Steel; and senior representatives from the company along with DFM top management, attended the listing ceremony.
Dual listing of the company’s shares on the Oman Stock Exchange and DFM will give UAE investors greater access to Al Jazeera Steel Products Company’s shares and enhance their ability to trade them
Al Shamsi welcomed the new listing as a vital addition to the suite of equity offerings available on the market. The listing further highlights the leading position of Dubai Financial Market as the preferred destination for outstanding local and regional companies seeking to list its shares.
Al Shamsi said: “Dubai Financial Market is constantly looking to expand and diversify the opportunities available to investors by encouraging and partnering with companies from around the region active in different sectors to benefit from trading on the UAE’s leading stock exchange. Companies from across the region also look upon DFM as an attractive exchange with a proven track record of professionalism and state-of-the-art facilities. Due to the high level of liquidity in the local market, companies are very eager to capitalise on their growth through a trading and fundraising window in the UAE.“
He added: “We are delighted to welcome the Al Jazeera Steel to the DFM, which lists many regional companies in line with its strategy of strengthening the exchange’s position through diversification and expansion of options for investors. The listing of Al Jazeera Steel is highly important as the first Omani company to join our prestigious listings of local and regional companies, a step which will be followed by many other listings either from Oman or the rest of the region.â€
Mr. Shailesh Dash, CFA, Managing Partner of Global Capital Management Ltd, and board member of Al Jazeera Steel, commented: “This is an exciting day for Al Jazeera Steel and we are proud to be the first Omani company to list on Dubai Financial Market. Despite difficult times in the steel industry, it has been a great last year, since our participation. We look forward to further improve the operations and increase Al Jazeera’s leadership position in the region.â€
About Dubai Financial Market: Dubai Financial Market (DFM) was established as a public institution having its own independent corporate body. DFM operates as a secondary market for the trading of securities issued by public shareholding companies, bonds issued by the federal Government or any of the local Governments and public institutions in the country, units of investment funds and any other financial instruments, local or foreign, which are accepted by the market. The DFM commenced operations on March 26, 2000. Following its initial public offering in November 2006, when DFM offered 1.6 billion shares, representing 20 per cent of its paid-up capital of AED 8 billion, DFM became a public joint stock company. Following the IPO, the Government of Dubai retained the remaining 80 per cent of DFM Company.
For further information, please contact:
Ghaleb Zeidan
ASDA’A Public Relations
E-mail: g.zeidan@asdaa.com
