The Commercial Bank of Dubai, the seventh largest bank in the UAE, has extended its limit on foreign shareholding to 40%.
The decision is reportedly a result of “substantial interest from foreign investors,” according to the bank’s chief executive. “It will allow us to broaden our investor base as well as sustain capital inflows in the UAE,” said Dr Bernd van Linder.
The decision comes at a time of renewed interest in UAE stocks from international investors. In May there was an increase in foreign buying interest following a slump in the previous months and the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among the UAE stocks to capture the interest of international investors was UAE bank, Emirates NBD, which stated that 254 “unique investors” had acquired just over 101 million shares at the end of May.
The bank noted that these purchases coincided with Emirates’ NBD’s inclusion in the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Standard Index and a large number of the purchases were made by EM tracking index funds.”
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