14 Jan, 2018Nasdaq Dubai to launch futures on Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group in latest market expansion

GFH is first company based outside UAE on which exchange will offer futures

Nasdaq Dubai will launch single stock futures on GFH Financial Group (GFH) starting 16 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 Dubai’s derivatives market, bringing to 17 the number of UAE-listed companies 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 exchange’s single stock futures. Nasdaq Dubai’s 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."