National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) could list the region's first exchange traded fund (ETF) by early 2010, an official of the Abu Dhabi Securities (ADX) said on Tuesday.

'We are waiting for the right time because it is the first ETF. We are aiming to have the ETF listed and traded by end 2009 or early next year,' Rashid Al Baloushi, deputy chief of ADX told Reuters.

NBAD will be the first ETF issuer and manager, said Elie Ghanem, head of markets products at ADX. When listed, it would be the first such product in the region's stock markets, he addded.

ADX first outlined plans to list ETFs in 2007 but has since delayed the launch due to the global market downturn.

'The rules, regulations, procedures, platform are all ready but it had to be postponed because of the financial crisis,' said Baloushi.

ETFs are investment vehicles that invest across indices in different markets and are traded in a similar way to companies shares.-Reuters