Nasdaq Dubai, the international exchange serving the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region said it has joined hands with Bourse de Tunis to explore collaboration possibilities, including initiatives regarding existing and future issuers and listings on the two exchanges.

Ways to promote Islamic capital markets products and solutions will also be considered under the MoU, together with supporting potential links between central securities depositories in the respective jurisdictions, remarked Hamed Ali, the chief executive of Nasdaq Dubai, after signing the deal with Bilel Sahnoun, chief executive of Bourse de Tunis at a ceremony held in Tunisia.

Sahnoun dubbed it as a landmark agreement that promotes close co-operation between the exchanges for the benefit of issuers, investors and brokers in Tunisia, the UAE and the wider Mena region.

"Nasdaq Dubai’s global and regional investor pool, combined with its international regulatory structure, make it an ideal platform to collaborate with Bourse de Tunis to support capital raising initiatives by a wide range of entities," he noted.  

Bourse de Tunis’ main objective is to serve the real economy, help financial market orientation of Tunisian companies and attract more foreign investor interest further to the enactment of an investment law enshrining the equality between foreign and domestic investors.

Currently, 80 companies are listed with a market value of $9 billion.

Ali said: "As the region's international exchange, Nasdaq Dubai looks forward to strengthening its links with Bourse de Tunis and the North African capital markets community, in order to promote business activity and opportunities for issuers and investors."

"Our international framework is designed to accommodate close cooperation with regional exchanges to support their growth and development," stated Ali.

During his visit to Tunisia, Ali also met Youssef Chahed, the Prime Minister, and other officials to discuss capital markets developments.

Nasdaq Dubai hosts a range of international and UAE equity listings, including Egypt’s Orascom Construction, and the exchange is the world’s largest venue for Sukuk listings at $45.06 billion.

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) utilised the exchange’s Murabaha Islamic financing platform to facilitate its issuance of a $150 million sukuk in January 2017.

Pursuing its remit to bring new asset classes to the region, Nasdaq Dubai opened an equity futures market in September 2016.-TradeArabia News Service