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His Excellency Saeed Al Eter, Director General of the Public Diplomacy Office (PDO), which oversees the strategic direction of the newly-established UAE Nation Brand Office, opened the financial market at Nasdaq Dubai to celebrate the announcement that the UAE Nation Brand’s logo and slogan “Make It Happen” has appeared on the Nasdaq Tower big screen in Times Square, New York City.
A space of great prominence, Nasdaq’s electronic LED video screen stands at 4 Times Square – a location that more than 380,000 people pass through every day, and which attracts more than 50 million visitors a year.
His Excellency Saeed Al Eter was joined by Hamed Ali, Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq Dubai and Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) at the ringing of the opening bell.
The ringing of Nasdaq Dubai’s famous opening bell usually signifies and celebrates the launch of bonds or other listings. With the UAE Nation Brand present at the market opening bell, it represented the alignment of Dubai’s rapid emergence as an international financial hub and the essence of the UAE Nation Brand’s “Make It Happen” philosophy.
Speaking on the occasion, His Excellency Saeed Al Eter said: “Being part of opening the market at Nasdaq Dubai represents a significant moment as we continue to carry our guiding philosophy to ‘Make It Happen’ across the nation, to places and people who have been an indispensable part of making the UAE the trailblazing country it has become.
“The UAE Nation Brand has already become a source of great pride and inspiration for the people that call the UAE their home, and it is a message that holds true of the remarkable growth of Dubai as a leading international financial hub, which we celebrated with this significant ringing of that famous financial bell.”
The Nasdaq Dubai market-opening bell ceremony has become synonymous with the success of the UAE in becoming the MENA region’s largest financial and business centre. As the region’s international stock exchange, based in DIFC, Nasdaq Dubai acts as a bridge between the UAE and international markets, and extends the UAE’s openness to other regions, countries and economies, by channeling international investment into the country.
Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of Nasdaq Dubai, said: “It’s an exciting moment when an entity that unites and energises people like the UAE Nation Brand opens the market at Nasdaq Dubai – there was palpable enthusiasm in the air. We were delighted to organise and commemorate this moment today.
“We are set to continue growing the UAE’s influence among the global financial community from Dubai. With the appearance of the UAE Nation Brand logo and slogan on the Nasdaq Tower, the links between Dubai’s financial district and international markets only grow deeper and stronger.”
Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer, DIFC Authority, said: “The motivational stories that underline the UAE’s growth as an ambitious nation draw a direct parallel with the emergence of the UAE as a leading regional and international financial hub. We are committed to supporting and advancing the core message of the UAE Nation Brand. As we have shown through our growth, the Dubai International Financial Centre is an example that shows nothing is impossible and that, if we can dream big enough, we can make anything happen.”
Nasdaq Dubai has more than 100 listings, approximately 55 per cent of which are from UAE entities including DP World, Emirates Airline and, the government of Sharjah. The rest of the listed entities are internationally-based, including the government of Indonesia, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Orascom Construction of Egypt, making Nasdaq Dubai a direct channel of communication, trading and investment between the UAE’s domestic economy and international economies.
Dubai is one of the largest centres in the world for Sukuk listings at 60.4 billion US dollars. The exchange has also created equity derivatives on the UAE and Saudi markets.
Towards the end of 2019, it was announced that Dubai has risen to number eight in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), representing its highest ever ranking, and a jump of four places in sixth months after it was positioned 12th in March 2019. Dubai is the only leading international financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region to appear within the top 10 rankings, placing it alongside other pivotal financial hubs such as London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. Dubai has consistently risen within the rankings since the Index was launched 12 years ago, having climbed 17 places since it first appeared in the rankings at 25th place in 2007.
With more than 24,000 professionals, the DIFC saw sustained growth in the first half of 2019, welcoming more than 250 new companies and bringing the total number of active registered firms to more than 2,289, a 14 percent increase year-on-year.
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