Arab stock marts in 12 countries to form a union

Abu Dhabi: The UAE and 11 Arab countries will meet tomorrow in Abu Dhabi to sign the official declaration of the federation of Arab Securities Markets.

Abdullah Al Toraifi, Chief Executive of the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (ESCA), said that chiefs of the Arab supervisory authorities will initial the basic system of the federation in attendance with Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Economy and Chairperson of ESCA, and Hamad Al Hur Al Suwaidi, ESCA's Vice-Chairman.

A meeting held in Abu Dhabi three months ago selected the UAE capital as the headquarters of the new federation," said Al Toraifi.

He added that delegations from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Iraq and representatives from Kuwait will attend tomorrow's meeting with ESCA board members.

The meeting will comprise two sessions and will be followed by recommendations.

Al Toraifi said the federation aims to increase the legal framework and structural levels of the markets to bring about greater transparency.

He added that the new organisation will help streamline the listing process across the region's markets by coordinating the regulations and standardising the language to simplify cross-listings.

The Middle East was home to eight of last year's 10 worst performers among global equity indexes. Saudi Arabia slumped 53 per cent in 2006 while Dubai lost 43 per cent.