DFM Best Performing Bourse in GCC Region in 2023

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) was the best performing market in the GCC region with a gain of 21.7% to close at 4,059.8 points in 2023, according to a report released by the Kuwait-based Kamco Invest.

This was the third consecutive year of gain in the index. In terms of sector performance, out of the eight sectors in the exchange, five witnessed a growth during 2023 while the remaining three recorded declined.

The consumer discretionary Index witnessed the biggest increase during the year recording a 49.6% growth to close the year at 1,473.5 points followed by the real estate and industrial sector Indices which registered 38.4% and 26.7% growth during the year, respectively. On the other hand, the consumer staples index registered 34.8% decline during 2023, the largest fall among the indices followed by the communications Index (-10.5%) and materials index (-3%).

In terms of yearly gainers, Gulf Navigation Holding topped the table with its stock price up by 431.9% in 2023. Al Firdous Holding and Al Salam Bank Bahrain followed, as their stock prices recorded gains of 224.8% and 106.8%, respectively. On the other hand, shares of Shuaa Capital and Dubai Islamic Insurance declined the most in 2023 as shares of both the companies dropped by 50.7% followed by Aramex with a decline of 34.9% during 2023.

Robust Trading Activity

Trading activity on DFM witnessed robust growth as volume traded increased by 26.2% y-o-y to reach 47.8 billion shares in 2023. The total value of shares improved by 7.6% y-o-y to reach $25.98 billion indicating higher trades in large-cap stocks during the year. Emaar Properties was the most actively traded stock on the exchange for the third consecutive year as $6.18 billion worth of shares were traded on DFM.

Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank followed with value traded of $3.13 billion and $1.93 billion, respectively. In terms of volume traded in the exchange during 2023, Union Properties topped with a volume of 10.1 billion shares compared with 4.2 billion in 2022.

Deyaar Development and Ajman Bank followed at 3.9 billion and 3.8 billion shares, respectively. The value of real estate transactions in Dubai increased by 37% for the first ten months of the year to reach $136.2 billion.

Moreover, the number of real estate transactions in Dubai for the first nine months of the year rose by 36% exceeding 116,000 transactions during the period. Dubai’s residential properties continued to remain one of the highest performing sectors in the Emirates property market due to the strong brands of the developers, flexible payment plans and the diversified menu of available properties. Moreover, driven by the influx of multinational companies into Dubai, office space is another important performing sector in Dubai’s property market.

More New Firms Join DCC

On the economic side, the number of companies in the Dubai Chamber of Commerce jumped nearly 50% for the first nine months of the year supported by the growth of the number of new companies registered during first nine months in 2023 which reached 48,616 companies recording 42.9% growth y-o-y.

According to the Dubai Chamber of Companies, the value of value of exports and re- exports of the chamber’s member companies increased to reach $57.2 billion during the first nine months of the year. The robust growth in the newly registered companies and the increase in value of goods exported and re-exported underlines Dubai’s continued attractiveness to investors and companies and its rising status as a global hub for business and investment. Dubai’s GDP expanded 3.2% for 1H-2023, mainly driven by strong growth in key sectors such as transportation.