Dubai, UAE–Brokerage companies at the Dubai Financial Market have added 26,953 new investor accounts in the first half of 2023.
The market reportedly witnessed significant momentum since the announced listing of 10 governmental and semi-governmental companies, including the Dubai Electricity and Water Company (DEWA), the TECOM Group, and Union Coop, Salik, and Al Ansari, among others.
The number of new investor accounts at DFM grew significantly by over 48 percent during the first five months of this year, compared to 18,204 new accounts in the same period in 2022.
According to DFM-released data, 4,246 new accounts were added in June;Â 5,349 added in May; 4,246 in April; 6,591 in March; 3,436 in February; and 3,082 in January.
Last year, shares in the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) rose 16 percent in the Gulf region’s biggest initial public offering since Saudi oil giant Aramco in 2019.
DEWA shares soared 19 percent in the first minutes of trading before paring back to 16 percent at 11 am (0700 GMT). The Dubai stock exchange was down 0.5 percent after the first hour of trade.
The state-owned utility said at the time it had raised AED22.3 billion ($6.1 billion) in the Gulf region’s largest IPO since Aramco’s world-record flotation.
Some 9 billion shares, an 18 percent stake, were listed, with the initial price set at AED2.48 ($0.68).
The deal, in which more than 65,000 institutional and retail investors participated, values the company at AED124 billion ($33.9 billion), the company said.