Steady rise in foreign investments on DFM

Foreign investors are continuing to increase their stakes in selected stocks on the Dubai Financial Market. Foreign ownership has increased sharply during the past three months – almost doubling in some cases. The level of foreign ownership in Islamic Arab Insurance Company (Salama) surged from 4.96 per cent of the total at the end of March to 9.64 per cent yesterday – an increase of 4.68 per cent. The share price rose by almost 60 per cent during that period to close at Dh1.29 yesterday. Foreign investors bought 51.48 million Salama shares worth Dh66.4 million during the period. Foreign investors more than doubled their holdings of DFM stock from 1.43 per cent on March 31 to 3.01 per cent yesterday. The stock advanced by 59 per cent during that period as foreign investors raised their stake by 1.58 per cent to 126.4 million shares worth Dh247.7m at yesterday's closing price of Dh1.96. Foreign ownership of Arabtec has continued to increase sharply during the past 10 weeks, rising by around 9.85 per cent. At the same time Arabtec jumped by 86 per cent to close at Dh3.05 yesterday. Foreign investors bought 118 million shares worth Dh359m. However, there have been some changes in the pattern of foreign ownership as overseas investors sold part of their holdings in some stocks and increased their stakes in others. Foreigners were net sellers of Emaar as their holdings fell from 6.75 per cent at the end of last month to 6.53 per cent yesterday. The DFM general index has added 565.76 points, or 36 per cent, since the end of March. During this rally foreign investors were net buyers in the market, which reflected rising confidence. Though it is difficult to say whether this new liquidity is in the market for long-term investment or for quick profits, it is clear that the increasing activity by foreign investors, especially institutions, has encouraged local investors and daily traders to inject more money. This could be seen in the continued increase in trade volumes. Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the daily Emirates Business 24|7 newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here .