ABU DHABI - The net investments of non-Arab foreign investors in the UAE’s financial markets doubled 11 times in 2019, jumping to AED12.5 billion.

The level of net investments of non-Arab foreigners in the Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets is the highest in five years, which reflects their success in attracting foreign investments.

The Securities and Commodities Authority, SCA, continued adopting systems to attract capital and local and international expertise in 2019, by upgrading markets at international index providers.

Four years ago, the UAE was upgraded to an emerging market by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which was a global acknowledgement that the country’s financial markets have reached international standards, leading to more long-term capital flow from foreign investors.

Foreign investors in the UAE’s financial markets are classified into three categories, which are non-Arabs, Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, citizens and Arab investors.

Official statistics also pointed out a significant increase in the value of foreign investors trading in the Abu Dhabi and Dubai markets in 2019 through buying and selling, amounting to AED218 billion, an increase of 20.4 percent compared to AED181 billion in 2018.

Non-Arab foreign investors trade in the two financial markets amounted to AED100.5 billion, or 46.1 percent of the total trades of foreigners in 2019.

The total foreign investors' trading share at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange amounted to AED112.75 billion in 2019, including buying and selling worth AED50 billion while the net investments of non-Arabs in this market totalled AED9.537 billion.

In the Dubai Financial Market, the value of foreign investors trade amounted to AED105.4 billion, including buying and selling worth AED50.5 billion, and their net investments totalled AED2.983 billion at the end of 2019.

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2019.