Dubai Financial Market has held a roadshow event to connect companies listed on its exchange to New York-based fund managers handling $3 trillion worth of assets.

The roadshow event saw 10 companies, including Emaar Properties, DP World, Damac Properties and DXB Entertainments, among others, holding one-on-one meetings with senior representatives from 16 fund managers. In total, some 82 meetings were held over a two-day event which concluded last Wednesday (May 2), a spokesman for DFM told Zawya.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, DFM chairman Essa Kazim said that participating fund managers "expressed their undisputed conviction on the lucrative opportunities available on the market", which he said was amplified given the current valuation attached to many Dubai-listed stocks.

Concerns about an oversupply of properties to Dubai's real estate sector have weighed heavily on some of its biggest listed firms in recent months. Emaar Properties has fallen in value by about 17 percent since the start of the year, closing at 5.3 dirhams per share on Tuesday, while Damac Properties has declined in value by 30 percent to 2.31 dirhams over the same period.

Data from Thomson Reuters shows that the Dubai Financial Market index was the worst performer of regional stock market indices in the first quarter of this year, falling by over 8.4 percent. Saudi Arabia's Tadawul index increased by 8.6 percent in value over the same period, and the Egyptian Exchange. (Read the full Q1 MENA Market report here).

Speaking at a media roundtable following the launch of the GCC Wealth Insight Report last month, Emirates Investment Bank's head of asset management, Nadi Barghouti, said the Dubai market had suffered a loss of liquidity in recent months, which was partly due to investors diverting money to Saudi Arabia as regulators loosened restrictions on foreign investment into companies. He said that valuations of Dubai stocks looked more competitive as a result.

The Thomson Reuters data shows that, overall, there was a net inflow of funds from institutional investors into equities in the Gulf Cooperation Council region during the first quarter. The data showed that Oppenheimer Funds bought $63.8 million of GCC stocks and Blackrock bought $49 million worth, but others such as T Rowe Price International and Schroder Investment Management were net sellers, disposing of $18.8 million and $21.6 million respectively.

The 10 listed Dubai companies that took part in the New York roadshow were:- Amanat Holdings, Damac Properties, DFM Company, DP World, Drake & Scull, DXB Entertainments, Emaar Developmnent, Emaar Malls, Emaar Properties and Emirates NBD.

(Writing by Michael Fahy; Editing by Shane McGinley)

(michael.fahy@thomsonreuters.com)

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