DUBAI- Nasdaq Dubai has announced that it will launch single stock futures on GFH Financial Group, GFH, starting from 16th January, 2018, to enable investors to take positions on movements in the share price of the Bahrain-based company.

GFH is the first non-UAE company on which the exchange is offering futures. GFH has a secondary listing on Dubai Financial Market, on which its shares were the most heavily traded by value of any company in 2017.

The addition of GFH is the latest expansion of Nasdaq Dubais derivatives market, bringing the number of UAE-listed companies to 17, on which single stock futures can be traded. The market opened with futures on seven companies in September 2016.

SHUAA Capital will provide market-making services on GFH to facilitate liquidity, as it does on all the exchanges single stock futures. Nasdaq Dubais derivatives market is attracting significant activity from investors, who make use of leverage to magnify the financial outcome of their trades.

Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of Nasdaq Dubai, said, "The addition of GFH to our market is the first step in an expansion that will include futures on more companies based in the GCC and elsewhere outside the UAE as the platform develops. We will continue to diversify the opportunities for investors to hedge or take a position on future price expectations, including making gains whether the value of the underlying share is falling or rising." Nasdaq Dubai will launch index futures on Dubai Financial Markets DFMGI index and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchanges ADI index during the first quarter of 2018. The exchange is also preparing to create futures on MSCI indices.



Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2018.