Dubai Financial Center Considers Forming Stock Market for Small Companies - Bloomberg

Dubai International Financial Center, a tax-free business park, is exploring the possibility of setting up a “second-tier” stock exchange for small and medium-sized companies in the Middle East.

The existing equity markets in the Middle East are geared for bigger companies, although about 95 percent of the firms operating in the region are small and medium-sized, the center’s chief economist Nasser Saidi told reporters at the Gulf Venture Capital Association conference in Dubai today. The private equity industry needs a second-tier market where they can list smaller companies with revenue of $20 million to $80 million and which has less stringent listing rules, he said.

“We view this as an initiative for the region,” Saidi said. Discussions have been held with a number of private equity firms that may use the market although there is no timeframe yet to set it up, he said.