SCA symposium urges market investors to avoid trading malpractices and base investment decisions on market fundamentals and corporate performance
report released about the performance of the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) revealed that the team mandated to enhance the UAE's competitiveness, who is part of the Emirates Competitiveness Council (ECC), made two remarkable achievements. First, the UAE has been ranked first internationally on the corporate boards index, according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook released by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Second, the country ranked first, too, at the Arab and regional levels on the investor protection index, after having leapt 59 ranks, which made it top the list of the ten most advanced economies across the globe, according the World Bank's ease of doing business annual report.
His Excellency Abdullah Al-Turifi, SCA CEO, applauded the efforts of the SCA team mandated to realize the keen vision of the wise leadership to improve the ranking of the UAE on global competitiveness indexes related to the field of securities and coordinate with the ECC in this regard. Al-Turifi pointed out that this notable success would not have been possible without the ECC efforts and the support provided by all official authorities.
Al-Turifi added that these achievements consolidate the UAE's position in global competitiveness and promote its status in the field of securities in terms of corporate boards and governance and investor protection. He noted that SCA resumed its efforts to boost the effectiveness of corporate boards, protect investors by setting further criteria governing stakeholder transactions, increase disclosure requirements in local securities markets, and hold relevant managers responsible for transactions that are unfair or constitute a conflict of interest.
Al-Turifi underscored the significance of enabling investors to check transaction-related documents and appointing independent auditors.
Al-Turifi confirmed that SCA adopts the best international practices and takes into consideration the criteria set forth by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the international reference point in terms of setting international criteria relevant to the field of securities markets.
This came on the sidelines of a symposium organized by SCA and attended by securities experts and specialists. Investors pointed out that financial markets indexes may see ups and downs, given that such trends are natural in financial markets, keeping in mind that the current downward trend in stock prices is not limited to local markets, but has extended to various regional markers and a number of international ones. Experts urged investors to base their investment decisions on the sound analysis of the general economic condition, market fundamentals, and listed companies' performance and growth potential. During the symposium, reference was made to financial analysts' expectations of an increase in the profitability of listed national companies relative to past year's results. The symposium also examined the remarkable performance of companies and the growth of national economy.
Investors pointed out that the current declines in financial markets offered numerous attractive investment opportunities and that the decline of a multiplier or Price/Earnings Ratio (or P/E ratio) are easily noticed.
Experts have also advised investors to base investment-related decisions on logic, not emotion, make use of the views of licensed consultants and accredited financial analysts, avoid rumors, and control their reactions.
They urged all market investors to avoid trading malpractices such as short-selling and praised the supervisory efforts made by SCA, whether electronic or physical. Inspections conducted by the SCA team (periodic or surprise "spot checks") over the past year amounted to 125 visits to all authorities regulated by SCA.