Over the past year, major company share sales attracted a lot of interest from investors.
A recent survey that ranks nations based on their interest in stock trading placed the UAE fifth globally. There was no other Arab or Gulf nation in the top 10.
CMC Markets, a UK-based financial services company that offers online derivative trading products like spread betting and contracts for difference across global markets like shares and foreign exchange, carried out the research for the study.
The study looked at search terms that people who are interested in stocks and trading frequently use in Google Trends. After that, these terms were combined to give each English-speaking nation a “total search score,” which was used to determine which nations have been most interested in stocks over the past year. The United Arab Emirates received a score of 374 out of a possible 700 based on these criteria.
According to the study, Singapore is the nation with the highest level of interest in stocks and trading.
Singapore topped the list with a total search score of 555 out of a possible 700 because its population had the highest global search levels for the terms “stocks,” “buy stocks,” and “interest rate.” Additionally, after India and the United States, Singaporeans search for “stock market” the third most globally.
With a total search score of 492, India ranks second on the list.
India ranks second in the ranking due to the fact that the country has the second-highest proportion of its population searching for both the terms “stock market” and “swing trading.”
The third nation with the highest level of interest in stocks was Canada.
Canada has a total search score of 462, making it the nation in North America with the second highest level of searches for the phrase “invest in stocks” and the third highest level of searches worldwide for the phrase “buy stocks.”
Overall, the United States comes in fourth.
The United States has the highest number of searches for the terms “invest in stocks” and “stock market,” as well as the fourth-highest number of searches for “buy stocks,” with a total search score of 453 out of a possible 700.
With a search score of 374, the United Arab Emirates came in fifth.
The study found that the United Arab Emirates is the fifth country most interested in “day trading” and has the fourth highest search volume for the term “swing trading.”
Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria followed the UAE.
Over the past year, the United Arab Emirates has seen a flurry of listing activity due to the country’s increased focus on major company listing. Dewa, Empower, Salik, and Tecom were some of the major options in Dubai. In 2022, the largest companies in Abu Dhabi were AD Ports Group, Borouge, Americana, and Taaleem, all of which offered shares to investors.
The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) estimates that by the end of 2022, the market cap of Arab stock exchanges will surpass $4 trillion, largely due to these listing. According to the AMF, Dubai Financial Market’s market value was $158.4 billion, while Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange’s market value was $714.6 billion in the reference year. The Saudi Stock Exchange had a market value of $2.63 trillion; while it was $167.09 billion for the Qatar Stock Exchange. The Boursa Kuwait had a market capitalization of $152.7 billion; while it was $61.6 billion for the Muscat Stock Exchange.
Investors were enthusiastic about the share sales, and almost every initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed. As more businesses look for funds to expand their operations, the recent flurry of share sales is likely to continue this year.
