550 billion dirhams, the value of debt instruments listed on “Nasdaq” and “Dubai Financial”

During the year 2025, the Dubai Financial Market succeeded in keeping pace with the rapid growth witnessed by the emirate’s economy, with the market value of the market increasing by about 9.39%, equivalent to 85.2 billion dirhams, amid the increasing number of new investors and the large demand from international institutions.

Dubai Financial confirmed, in exclusive statements to Emirates Today, that the market recorded remarkable activity in listings through two initial public offerings and a secondary offering, and Nasdaq Dubai also crossed a turning point with the total outstanding value of the listed sukuk exceeding the barrier of $100 billion (367 billion dirhams), while the total value of debt instruments listed on both the Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai reached about $150.7 billion (550 billion dirhams) by the end of the year. The past.

During the past year, the market worked to develop its infrastructure through targeted updates that enhanced transparency and efficiency in line with international standards, with continuous support for innovation and operational efficiency, which contributed to expanding the investor base locally and internationally.

The market index rose by 17.22% during the year 2025, rising from 5,158.67 points at the end of December 2024, to 6,047.09 points, in the last trading sessions in 2025. The market capitalization rose from 906.9 billion dirhams, to 992.1 billion dirhams, while the market witnessed the addition of 86.47 thousand new investor accounts.

Listing activity in 2025 reflects the continued diversification of Dubai’s capital markets, as transactions included multiple sectors, including real estate, communications, and the construction sector.

The year 2025 witnessed the launch of the “Dubai REIT” housing fund, the first residential real estate investment fund listed in the Gulf region and the largest of its kind regionally. This listing provided a new real estate asset class in the public market, and provided investors with the opportunity to access revenue-generating residential assets within the framework of a regulated market.

The initial public offering of the Dubai REIT housing fund succeeded in raising 2.145 billion dirhams, amid a wide and exceptional turnout from local, regional and international investors, which reflects strong confidence in the stable and thriving residential real estate market in Dubai.

The fund’s 1.95 billion units were fully covered within minutes of opening the subscription window, which led to the final price being set at the upper end of the price range of 1.10 dirhams per unit.

As for the second offering, it was the listing of Alec Holding Company, which operates in the fields of engineering and construction with multiple activities and is based in Dubai, in the largest initial public offering witnessed in the construction sector in the history of the UAE, and the first listing in this sector in more than 15 years, which confirms Dubai’s position as a leading global investment center, and reflects the emirate’s strategic direction towards enhancing diversity in the capital markets.

The IPO was fully covered, with the total proceeds from the offering reaching 1.4 billion dirhams through the sale of one billion ordinary shares by the Investment Corporation of Dubai. The offering also witnessed strong demand from a diverse base of regional and international investors, as subscription requests amounted to about 30 billion dirhams, exceeding the target value by more than 21 times across the various segments.

During the year 2025, the Dubai Financial Market witnessed a secondary offering of the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company “du”, which contributed to increasing the free trading ratio and improving liquidity in one of the most prominent listings in the telecommunications sector in the country, in addition to expanding the shareholder base, while recording notable interest from regional and international investors.

In 2025, the Dubai Financial Market continued to develop the market infrastructure through targeted updates that supported transparency and efficiency, and contributed to expanding the base of investment participation, in line with international standards for capital markets.

Last year witnessed the introduction of updates to the iVestor platform, which included features powered by artificial intelligence, designed to facilitate browsing financial disclosures and company information, and enable investors to access relevant data more clearly and smoothly.

The market also launched the Securities Lending and Borrowing Program (SLB), which provided a regulatory framework that allows participants to lend and borrow listed securities for specific periods, thus contributing to enhancing liquidity and raising the efficiency of operational operations.

At the post-trading level, Nasdaq Dubai and AIX CSD implemented a direct link to the Central Securities Depository, which contributed to simplifying settlement processes and supporting cross-border listings between markets.

In the same context, the availability of securities listed on Dubai Financial has been expanded through international trading platforms, including global investment applications, which has enhanced the access of international investors and linked Dubai more deeply to global capital markets.

These updates aim to simplify investors’ access to published information, and enhance the efficiency of their interaction with market disclosures, without any change to the applicable regulatory requirements.

The Dubai Financial Market strengthened its cross-border relations during 2025 through strategic partnerships that support the exchange of knowledge, encourage innovation, and contribute to the development of the market in the long term.

One of the most prominent of these steps was the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, to cooperate in areas including sustainability research, financial technology, and market development, thus strengthening ties between Dubai and one of the most active capital markets in Asia, and opening new horizons for cooperation between exporters and investors in both regions.

In the context of enhancing international communication, the Dubai Financial Market organized promotional tours for investors in major global financial centers, including London and New York, where it met with sovereign funds, asset managers, and family offices, in a move aimed at consolidating Dubai’s position as a gateway for cross-border investment and an engine for regional growth.

During the year 2025, Nasdaq Dubai crossed a turning point, as the total outstanding value of listed sukuk exceeded the $100 billion barrier, while the total value of debt instruments listed on both the Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai reached about $150.7 billion, of which $146 billion are listed on Nasdaq Dubai.

Last year also witnessed the first listing of China Development Bank sukuks in a dual currency, which strengthened Dubai’s position as a strategic international center for debt issuance and cross-border investments. By the end of last year, the total value of listings related to environmental, social and institutional governance listed on Nasdaq Dubai amounted to about $30.08 billion across 41 issues, distributed by $18.38 billion across 27 green bond issues, sustainable bonds worth $9.05 billion across 9 issues, sustainability-related bonds worth $2.55 billion across 4 issues, and blue bonds worth $100 million.

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Dubai Financial begins 2026 transactions with gains of 12.4 billion dirhams

The Dubai Financial Market closed trading yesterday, the first session of the new year, rising by 1.107%, or the equivalent of 66.94 points, at the level of 6114.03 points, supported by the rise in shares of the real estate, banking and industrial sectors.

The market capitalization of Dubai Financial rose to more than one trillion dirhams at the end of yesterday’s session, compared to 992.1 billion dirhams at the end of last Wednesday’s trading (the last session of last year 2025), with gains amounting to about 12.41 billion dirhams. The market performance supported the growth of the real estate sector shares by 1.48%, the banks by 1.36%, and the industry by 0.9%. The Dubai Financial Market decided to suspend trading on the occasion of New Year’s Day, on Thursday, January 1, 2026. Shares listed on the market attracted liquidity exceeding 464.63 million dirhams, after trading about 195.54 million shares and executing 6,574 transactions.

. 3 public and secondary offerings supported the expansion of the investor base in the market.

. The market capitalization of Dubai Financial increased to 992.1 billion dirhams, and 86.47 thousand new investor accounts were added.