Global financial community turns towards Middle East

Continuing with the financial community's interest in the MENA region, NASDAQ OMX is hosting its first ever Middle East Investor Conference on 20 November in Dubai.

As the single largest exchange entity worldwide, NASDAQ OMX offers a full suite of capital raising solutions to publicly traded companies around the world.

The event, held jointly with the NASDAQ Dubai, will provide the Middle Eastern investor community with the opportunity to meet with and learn more about the strategies of several leading listed companies, as well as learn more about NASDAQ Dubai's exciting new equity derivatives initiative. The regional potential for exchange-traded funds will also be discussed.

The NASDAQ OMX Middle East Investor Conference further supports this growing interest by bringing together private and institutional investors with regional businesses within a networking and information exchange forum.

NASDAQ OMX has been hosting investor programs in Europe and Asia for over 13 years and they have grown to become the largest institutional investor programs for U.S. equities in Europe. In 2008 alone, the NASDAQ OMX international investor programs will have hosted over 130 NASDAQ-listed companies.

In addition to the conference discussion panels and many high level-networking opportunities, investors from the Middle East will be offered access to the senior management of many leading companies in the form of private one-to-one meetings.The day will conclude with an Opening Bell Ceremony for The NASDAQ Stock Market. It marks the first time a global exchange has opened its market remotely from Dubai.

The Bell Ceremony will take place at the DIFC Gate and will be broadcast live in New York's Times Square and around the globe.

Presentations will be made by the senior management of 28 companies, from across the

These participating panelists, will not only be in the optimal position to secure investment funds to fuel their continued growth, but as well, serve as corporate ambassadors for the region by building strategic relationships with business leaders, key investors, and with local and international business media.

Being such an integral facilitator of both financial jurisprudence as well as global liquidity, both at the corporate and investor levels, it is no wonder that NASDAQ OMX has turned its focus to one of the remaining economic dynamic regions of the world.

The GCC countries continue to enjoy growth and liquidity due to a spate of profitability in recent years, coupled with budget surplus supported by high oil and commodity prices, and an economic diversification policy that has decreased the reliance on oil-based income, according to reports.

NASDAQ Dubai is a strategic union that will offer investors everywhere greater exposure to Middle Eastern companies, while simultaneously positioning MENA region businesses for a broader pool of capital raising possibilities.

The rebranding NASDAQ Dubai is instrumental in putting the spotlight on MENA based companies and helping them attract investor interest and raise capital.

In addition to a more liquid financial context, comparatively speaking, the GCC continues to house companies that are seeking expansionary and operational financing.

Investors cashing in on the opportunity to pick up equities and other securities at a fraction of their market values mere months ago, and with growth potential, are answering the call.

Many multinationals that have set up establishments in the UAE in recent years, a number of local and regional companies have also established their presence on the MENA corporate horizon, with grand ambitions and the desire to raise the necessary capital to achieve them.

Finally, the events of this week-the NASDAQ Dubai rebranding, the Middle East Investor Conference, and the opening bell ceremony - all indicate the beginning of a fruitful relationship between Dubai and New York, and other global exchange capitals.
Source : Sukuk.net