December 2023 saw a notable year-on-year increase of 184 percent RIYADH: The Dubai Financial Market witnessed a 12.5 percent surge in the number of investor accounts in 2023 as compared to the previous year, the Emirates News Agency, also known as WAM, reported on Tuesday. The report, citing official data, showed that brokerage firms in the emirate’s financial market managed to open 57,054 new investor accounts. The growth, it added, was driven by several factors, including the strong momentum in the market since the announcement of the listing of government and semi-government companies, as well as the increasing popularity of online trading. December saw a notable year-on-year increase of 184 percent. The report said the last month of 2023 recorded the opening of 6,088 accounts, partly due to the strong demand from investors for the initial public offering of the Dubai Taxi Corp. Surging new investor accounts bolster Dubai’s Financial Market, injecting potential for greater liquidity and trading activity. In the meantime, the 29 brokerage firms operating in the Dubai Financial Market executed over 3.83 million transactions in 2023, a 32.7 percent increase compared to 2022’s 2.88 million. Foreign and regional institutional investors have led a significant surge in net stock purchases, amounting to 7 billion dirhams ($1.91 billion) year-to-date in the Abu Dhabi and Dubai markets. Demonstrating sustained interest in locally listed firms, this figure reflects a total purchase of 302.7 billion dirhams compared to total sales of approximately 295.8 billion dirhams. According to a recent WAM report, institutional investors boosted their acquisition of domestic stocks in 2023 due to diverse investment prospects and the opportunity to engage in the expansion of the UAE’s economy. The report further noted that institutional investors dominated the UAE equity market in 2023, capturing nearly 78 percent of total trading activity. In the Dubai Financial Market, institutional investments reached 808.1 million dirhams year-to-date. The local financial markets expect increased institutional investments in the upcoming months due to the numerous investment opportunities available in shares of financially stable companies, which are trading at appealing price levels for both local and foreign portfolios, the report added. Earlier in November, ADX and HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd. had partnered to introduce digital fixed-income securities to the region’s capital markets. In the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, institutional investors achieved a net investment exceeding 6.1 billion dirhams year-to-date, fueled by cumulative purchases of 253.9 billion dirhams, which marginally exceeded sales of 247.8 billion dirhams. Citing data from the stock market, WAM reported that the highest net purchase value in the ADX was recorded in February, reaching approximately 2.3 billion dirhams, followed by 1.02 billion dirhams in March and 566.7 million dirhams in April. Digital bonds are financial instruments managed using blockchain and smart contract technology to streamline operations in capital markets.