Emirati women’s ADX holdings reach Dh39bn

Emirati women held shares worth about Dh39 billion on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange at the end of July, accounting for 94 per cent of the value of all shares owned by women on the market and underscoring their growing weight in the UAE’s capital markets.

Close to 125,000 active Emirati women investors participate on ADX, placing them at the centre of an expanding pool of individual investors as Abu Dhabi seeks to deepen its capital markets and broaden participation alongside the continued growth of institutional and overseas investment.

The Dh39 billion figure implies that women investors collectively held shares valued at roughly Dh41.5 billion on ADX at the end of July. The overwhelming share controlled by Emirati women highlights the scale of domestic participation despite the exchange’s increasingly international investor base.

The figures were highlighted as part of activities surrounding Emirati Women’s Day on August 28, which is being observed this year under the theme “We Emerge Stronger and Better”. The UAE has expanded the occasion into a month-long programme running until September 28, with initiatives focusing on women’s economic participation, leadership and financial independence.

The ADX numbers form part of a broader pattern across the country’s capital markets. More than 554,000 women are investors in UAE securities markets, with Emirati women representing about 70 per cent of their number. Their investments account for approximately 93 per cent of the total value owned by women, demonstrating that their financial presence extends well beyond the Abu Dhabi market.

Women are also building sizeable positions outside listed equities. More than 25,000 Emirati businesswomen hold over 50,000 commercial licences, with investments exceeding Dh60 billion based on 2025 figures. Property has emerged as another significant asset class. Emirati women recorded Dh2.7 billion of real estate transactions in Sharjah during the January-to-August 2026 period, covering 3,385 properties owned by 3,737 women.

Their growing presence coincides with a period of expansion for ADX itself. Market capitalisation stood at about Dh2.8 trillion at the end of June, while trading value reached Dh171 billion during the first half of 2026. More than 30,000 investors joined the exchange during the six months, a year-on-year increase of 7.1 per cent in new registrations.

Foreign investors accounted for 77 per cent of those new registrations, illustrating how ADX is simultaneously attracting international capital and maintaining strong participation among UAE nationals. International investors represented 48 per cent of total trading value during the first half, while UAE nationals accounted for the remaining 52 per cent.

Institutional investors represented 78 per cent of overall trading value, while the number of individual transactions rose 12 per cent to nearly 3.3 million. Total traded volume increased 3.7 per cent to 50.3 billion shares, with average daily volume advancing 9 per cent to around 423 million shares.

The exchange has also been broadening the instruments available to investors. Six additional single-stock futures were introduced in July, increasing its derivatives offering to 17 futures products covering 50 contracts. The new contracts include companies operating in energy, artificial intelligence, logistics, banking and investment.

Daily price limits on exchange-traded funds and futures contracts were removed from August 3 as part of efforts to improve price discovery and liquidity. The measure gives investors greater flexibility to hedge portfolios and respond to changing market conditions without being constrained by conventional daily trading bands.

ADX has sought to connect these market-development measures with efforts to strengthen financial literacy and long-term wealth creation. Abdulla Salem Alnuaimi, Group Chief Executive Officer of ADX Group, said Emirati women were advancing the economy through their resilience, ambition and capacity to drive innovation.

Women now make up about 40 per cent of the ADX workforce, compared with 38.7 per cent in 2024, alongside programmes intended to develop female professionals and expand their progression into leadership roles.