How to buy shares and invest on the Abu Dhabi & Dubai Stock Exchanges

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UAE stock exchanges

There are three UAE stock exchanges that trade shares in UAE based companies (and a few foreign ones). They are

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange
Dubai Financial Market
Dubai International Financial Exchange (see the DIFX forum, information still to be added to this page)

Listed companies on the UAE Stock Exchanges

There are several sectors, and confusingly, each stock exchange has a different set of categories, which in turn are different from how the regulatory authority organises them (ESCA - Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority).

The four ESCA catergories are

Banks - see UAE banks for a brief introduction to the sector
Insurance - see UAE insurance for a brief introduction to this sector
Service
Industry - see UAE building materials for cement and building material companies

How to get started with buying and selling shares on the DFM and ADX (ADSM)

To get started with trading and investing on DFM and ADSM, you'll need do the following:

DFM - Dubai Financial Market

1. Go there (in the Trade Center building) early to join the queue to get an Investor Number. Take a number and come back in a few hours. You'll need a passport copy (resident's visa is apparently not necessary), bring original passport also.

2. Eventually you'll get a card with your investor number for DFM - it'll start with a country code depending on your nationality and then a number.

3. Choose a broker and ask to open an account with them. Do this after 1300 since between 0930 and 1300 there is generally mayhem while markets are trading. See the UAE brokers forum for comments, or the list of ADX DFM brokers. Some things to consider are:

Do they trade both DFM and ADSM securities?
How easy is it to talk to them?
Can you phone in orders (even if they say yes, you may find it difficult to get through during trading hours)?
Can you send orders by fax - and how long does it take to be actioned?
Do they have online trading facilities (and what are the fees)?
Are there minimum amounts to open an online account?
How stable and secure is the online trading platform (if they have one)?
Are there minimum amounts to open an account? And/or for each trade?
What's the procedure for depositing and withdrawing funds (some brokers operate through a bank account)?

Note that the transaction fees for trading are set by the authorities and should not vary amongst the different brokers. See the list of brokers for latest fees information.

ADX - Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (was the ADSM Abu Dhabi Securities Market)

1. Go there to get an Investor Number. There's a branch in Ras Al Khaimah opposite Carrefour as well as in Abu Dhabi. Some brokers at DFM will also trade ADX securities and may process an application for an ADX Investor Number - but don't count on it. You'll need a passport copy (maybe with resident's visa), bring original passport also.

2. Eventually you'll get a card with your investor number for ADX - it'll start with a country code depending on your nationality and then a number.

3. Choose a broker and ask to open an account with them. Do this after 1300 since between 0930 and 1300 it is fairly chaotic while investors are trading on the markets. See the UAE brokers forum for comments, or the list of ADX DFM brokers.

For more information on getting started, see the investment forum for beginners or UAE stock forum.

Disclaimer: ShareWadi.com and DubaiShareTalk.com provide UAE stockmarket related information, but do not offer investment advisory services, or brokerage services. Investing in shares is risky, you can lose some or all of your money and/or other assets. Anything you read on this site should be regarded as the opinion of the author only and is not to be taken as advice to buy, sell, or hold shares and/or other investments. Do not make investment decisions without due diligence and/or professional advice. In particular, do not assume anything you read on this site is correct or accurate. You should make your own investigations to determine if information is accurate and ultimately, you should accept that you and you alone are responsible for any investing decisions you make.

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This page last updated 24-May-2008. E & OE.