MENA EXCHANGES: Exchanging data

IndicesFunds Global profiles the seven stock exchanges in the Mena region that are members of the World Federation of Exchanges

Exchanges tablesExchanges boxThe Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is home to some 20 stock exchanges, but only seven are members of the World Federation of Exchanges, the trade body that seeks to guide and maintain standards.

By market capitalisation, the Tadawul in Saudi Arabia is the largest. Though its size is unexceptional in global terms – the exchanges of both Mexico and Indonesia are larger – the Tadawul is a regional leader with a market cap nearly as big as the combined value of the other regional exchanges that are members of the federation.

By this measure, the Tadawul is more than twice the size of the Tel Aviv stock exchange, more than four times the size of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and more than seven times the size of the Egyptian exchange.

In April, the value of shares traded on the Tadawul was more than ten times the value of shares traded in Tel Aviv and nearly 50 times what was traded in Cairo.

However, other measurements reveal a less one-sided picture. The Israeli bourse had 525 listed companies in April, while the Egyptian exchange had 233 and the comparatively small Amman stock exchange had 243 companies – all more than the 160 listings on the Tadawul.

Meanwhile, the star performer in recent months has been the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, which had its main index rise nearly 28% in dollar terms in the year ending April 2013. The worst performer by a wide margin was the Casablanca stock exchange, whose index fell more than 9% in the same period, while the main index of the Tadawul mildly disappointed investors by falling 2.5%.

©2013 funds global MENA

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