“Equity markets across the Middle East are flourishing right now, as asset owners look to leverage the benefits of wider share ownership.”
Scope Markets has added another 23 Dubai-listed stocks CFDs to its UAE product offering which already includes 42 Abu Dhabi-listed stocks.
These instruments, which are available on multiple Scope Markets account types including those denominated in USD and AED, are priced based on the underlying exchange prices, with trading fees charged by Scope Markets reflecting the underlying exchange transaction fees with a mark-up.
“Equity markets across the Middle East are flourishing right now”
The brokerage firm decided to launch another 23 Dubai-listed stocks CFDs because, while equity markets across the Middle East are seeing significant growth, gaining economic exposure to these assets can be challenging, owing to cross-border ownership restrictions and high transaction charges for overseas investors.
Launching a range of long-only Middle Eastern stock CFDs, is aimed at ensuring seamless access for the broadest possible range of customers. Instead of offering ownership, a CFD offers exposure to the asset’s price moves as well as to dividend payments and other corporate actions.
The timing of the launch coincides with the upbeat sentiment within the UAE markets as of late. It was in this context that, for example, Spinney’s IPO was oversubscribed by around 64 times last week. Its shares are expected to start trading on the Dubai Financial Market on May 9.
Pavel Spirin, Chief Executive Officer of Scope Markets, commented: “Equity markets across the Middle East are flourishing right now, as asset owners look to leverage the benefits of wider share ownership. That’s creating a wealth of opportunities, but the barriers to ownership for overseas investors remain high. Scope Markets approach makes investing in these markets far more accessible to a much wider audience.
“There’s a theme of abundant confidence running through equity markets in the Middle East right now. As a business, we are building out our presence in the region and it’s clear to see how the smart investor of today wants to diversify their portfolio, in a way where stocks from the GCC can sit alongside investments from established markets such as the US, UK and Germany.”
Scope Markets expanding CFD offering further
In late 2023, the Belize-based FX and CFDs brokerage introduced over 100 new Contract for Differences (CFDs) across eight global asset classes, including almost 50 U.S. equity American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and 40 Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) from Japan and Hong Kong, thereby providing more diverse trading opportunities. It previously added over 500 single stock CFDs covering markets in Canada, Hong Kong, and Austria, and bringing the total number of global equity markets accessible to Scope Markets’ clients to 11, and the number of individual stock CFDs to over 40,000.
Last month, Scope Markets expanded its footprint in the Middle East with the opening of a new branch in Lebanon. The new office will serve as a regional hub for providing localized services and customized products to retail traders in Lebanon and the surrounding region. As per its managing partner Hadi Zaarour, the new office in Nabatieh brings the total number of Scope Markets branches in Lebanon to four. “With more to come in 2024, as we continue to provide the excellent service which the trading community deserves. We are very excited and looking forward ahead to extend our service’s reach to more and more areas in Lebanon,” Zaarour wrote in a Linkedin post.
