Dubai Financial Market Company, the operator of the DFM, reported a 14 per cent rise in its full-year profit boosted by higher trading activity.
Net profit attributable to owners of the company for the year ended December 31 rose to Dh137.9 million, up from Dh120.6m in 2019, the company said in a filing to the DFM on Wednesday. Total annual revenue increased 7 per cent year-on-year to Dh337.2m.
In what was a volatile year for equities markets worldwide, the value of shares traded on the exchange increased by nearly a quarter last year to Dh66 billion. The exchange also attracted more investors to the market.
"The high level of resiliency as well as the positive indicators of 2020 demonstrated by DFM underline the deep confidence of various market participants including investors, issuers, brokers, etc," Essa Kazim, chairman of the company, said. “Despite the pandemic, 2020 witnessed a significant number of achievements for the DFM, as the global crisis didn’t halt the implementation of strategic development plans."
The exchange attracted 2,350 new international investors, lifting total number of new investors in 2020 to 4,027. International investors accounted for 50 per cent of traded value with net purchases of Dh661m and a shareholding of 19 per cent of total market capitalisation by the end of 2020.
The DFM General Index limited its decline to 9.9 per cent by the end of the year, and in the year to the market's close on Tuesday was trading 9.3 per cent higher.
The company's fourth-quarter net profit fell to Dh17.8m compared to Dh25.1m in the last quarter of 2019, it said.
Quarterly revenue declined to Dh66.2m compared Dh74.2m in the same period a year earlier.
Last month, Dubai revamped the requirements to list local joint stock companies on the emirate's bourses.
All non-local joint stock companies are required to list their shares on the DFM and Nasdaq Dubai if they generate more than half of their annual profits or revenues from activities in Dubai.
These companies are also required to list if their total assets in the emirate amount to 50 per cent or more of their entire assets.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Specs
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
The low down on MPS
What is myofascial pain syndrome?
Myofascial pain syndrome refers to pain and inflammation in the body’s soft tissue. MPS is a chronic condition that affects the fascia (connective tissue that covers the muscles, which develops knots, also known as trigger points).
What are trigger points?
Trigger points are irritable knots in the soft tissue that covers muscle tissue. Through injury or overuse, muscle fibres contract as a reactive and protective measure, creating tension in the form of hard and, palpable nodules. Overuse and sustained posture are the main culprits in developing trigger points.
What is myofascial or trigger-point release?
Releasing these nodules requires a hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure to release muscular shortness and tightness. This eliminates restrictions in connective tissue in orderto restore motion and alleviate pain. Therapy balls have proven effective at causing enough commotion in the tissue, prompting the release of these hard knots.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The five pillars of Islam
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