Dubai International Financial Exchange

The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) is a privately held stock exchange in Dubai and is wholly owned by Borse Dubai. The best part about DIFX is that its standards are in line with the leading international exchanges in New York, London and Hong Kong. With the help of DIFX, regional and international issuers get an opportunity to access the regional and international investment they require.

DIFX offers increased market visibility, access to regional and global capital and the ability to sustain fair valuation. The exchange intends to become the platform of choice in the Middle East and Gulf region for a range of Equities, Bonds, Funds, Islamic Banking, index Products, and Derivatives.

Listings

At this moment of time, DIFX lists shares, bonds, Sukuk and structured products. Generally speaking, DIFX shares include Albaraka Banking Group, Gold Fields and Kingdom Hotel Investments. Believe it or not, the exchange is the biggest in the world for Sukuk by listed value, with around 44 percent of the global total. Presently, the exchange has ten member banks that are Jefferies, Barclays Capital, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, EFG-Hermes, HSBC, KAS BANK, Morgan Stanley,

SHUAA Capital and UBS.

You can easily see the wide reach of DIFX by taking into account the fact that issuers are based in countries such as UK, Germany, South Africa, Australia, Switzerland, India and Kuwait. At present, DIFX has 20 member brokers, which include top-notch international and regional banks.

Easy trading in DIFX

Irrespective of your location, as an investor you can choose from a wide array of equity and other securities in DIFX. Trading on the DIFX is quite a straightforward affair. You can trade directly through a DIFX Member or with the assistance of a broker that has a relationship with a DIFX Member. The trading hours of the DIFX are from 11:45am to 5pm (07:45am to 1pm GMT) from Monday to Friday.

How to invest in DIFX?

If you want to trade in the securities of companies listed on the DIFX, it is advisable that you follow below mentioned steps:

• First and foremost, talk with your preferred bank or broker to judge whether they give access to products listed on the DIFX.
• Once you are through this step, set up an account with this bank or broker. In addition, allocate capital to that account. Remember the point that account capital will depend on the bank or broker.
• Before you start investing, it is of paramount importance that you conduct research on companies who have listed on the DIFX.

This will help you in coming to the right investment decision. If you are happy with your decision, contact your chosen bank or broker and they will immediately execute the order. It’s the responsibility of broker to ensure that on settlement of the transaction you get the stock or cash.

Investors of any nationality can invest in DIFX. You just need to contact your broker to begin trading in DIFX. In other words, there is no requirement to contact the exchange.

Getting DIFX prices and news

Getting up to date information regarding DIFX market is quite pivotal in terms of judging whether to buy or sell. Taking this into account, DIFX makes its market data widely available. The top-notch technical infrastructure chosen by the DIFX also runs few of the quickest moving markets in the world. You can get price quotes without any cost.

Location - The Dubai International Financial Centre

The DIFX is located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a financial free zone. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), an independent entity, regulates financial activities in the DIFC according to international standards. The President of the DIFC is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

Dubai Financial Market

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) is a stock exchange situated in Dubai. It was established as a public institution. Approximately 60 companies are listed (as of August 2007) on DFM, majority of them local UAE based companies and a few from other Gulf countries with dual listings, most of them allowing foreigners to own their shares. The total market cap is around $360bn.

The Dubai Financial Market operates as a secondary market, managing trade of securities issued by public joint-stock companies, bonds issued by the federal or local governments and/or public institutions in the country, units of investment funds and any other local or foreign financial instruments, which are accepted by the Market.

Objective

The main objective of Dubai Financial Market is to create a fair, efficient, liquid and transparent marketplace that offers options through the best utilization of available resources.

Protecting investors from unfair and improper practices, DFM also regulates the routine of trading in securities. With the interaction of supply and demand on the basis of fair and equitable trading routines between investors, DFM also plays a prominent part in developing highest liquidity in the marketplace. DFM also implements rules of professional conduct and discipline between brokers and DFM staff to maintain a high level of integrity in the market.

Investing in DFM

Daily routines of trading, clearance and settlement in DFM are implemented with the help of two integrated systems, namely Clearance & Settlement System (CSS) and Trading System. As evident from the name itself, CSS is usually used in clearance and settlement of business. On the other hand, trading system is more often used by brokers for their daily routines. It helps them to monitor spot orders of buy and sell.

Trading procedures

If you are interested in trading at DFM, first and foremost you should get your investor number from DFM. For that, you have to submit the Investor Number Form at the Investor Services Office. You can also take the help of a DFM accredited broker in this regard. You also need to open an account with a DFM accredited user by filling in the account opening form. If you are non-UAE nationals, you need to submit copy of passport, labor card and birth certificate with Investor Number Form and Account Opening Form.

Trading system

Identical to most of the world’s major stock exchanges, DFM also operates on an automated screen-based trading system. There are plenty of benefits attached with this sort of trading system as compared to the conventional floor trading system in terms of transparency, liquidity and trading of prices. Feature wise, trading system of DFM is an order driven system, which not only matches buying and selling orders of the investors but also displays information regarding present and historical trading activity. It includes prices, trading volumes and outstanding buying and selling orders.

Trading sessions

Trading sessions in DFM begin from Saturday to Thursday (except public holidays in the UAE) as mentioned below:

Broker offices

You can easily contact DFM accredited brokers as all of them have offices on the trading floor of DFM. You can have multiple accounts with different account numbers with more than one broker. If you are below the age of 18 and interested in trading at DFM you can do so but only with the existence of a guardian who will offer instructions on the minor’s behalf.

Official Website: http://www.dfm.ae/

Wild Wadi Park

Wild Wadi Park

It is an outdoor water theme park with a heated wave pool, water slides and artificial surfing machines. The water park has an 18 meter high water fall, which comes down in the form of a rain shower every 10 minutes. Wild Wadi's assortment of rides suits all age groups, making it a sought after water sports joint in Dubai.

Fun Rides

Master Blaster is a series of slides. Master Blaster is best described as an ‘uphill water roller coaster.’ Riders can sit in a single or double ring which is propelled uphill by high-powered water jets. The Master Blaster rides include White Water Wadi, Jebel Lookout, Wadi Leap, Hos'N Hurler, Falaj Fury, Wadi Twister, Wadi Basher and Flood River Flyer.

Ring Rides are downhill gravity slides. Riders sit in a single or double ring and move fast to the bottom of the slide. These rides include Tumble Falls, Falcon Fury, Rushing Rapids, Thunder Rapids and Tunnel of Doom.

Falcon Fury is a short and thrilling 58 meters ring ride. Tunnel of Doom is a thrilling underground ride. Family ride goes uphill into a pool area and then it moves on a 170 meter downhill slide. The Summit Surge and Rushdown Ravine combination is uniquely different.

Jumeirah Sceirah is the biggest water slide outside of North America. It is about 108 feet and thrusts riders up to 80 km per hr. Flow Riders is a surfing simulator. The Wipeout and Riptide FlowRiders is termed as the ultimate in surfing experience. The Wipeout FlowRider is touted to be one among the best four rides in the world.

Juha's Journey is a 360 meter long lazy river. Breakers Bay is the largest wave pool in the Middle East, creating 5 different types of waves. Juha’s Dhow and Lagoon is a special spot for small kids. There are over 100 water games including 5 slides, a huge dumping bucket, racing slides, and water guns.

Wadi Wash is a choreographed sound, light and water show and is one of the main attractions at Wild Wadi. The Fossil Rock fills up with 60,000 liters of water to create a ‘Flash Flood’.

Timings and Rates

Wild Wadi Water Park is open everyday from 11 am, and has different closing hours depending on the season. In January, February, November and December it closes at 6:00 pm while in March, April, May, September and October it closes at 7 pm. In summer, Wild Wadi closes at 9 p.m. Thursday is a ‘ladies only’ day.

The entrance fee at Wild Wadi Dubai is Dhs. 160 (US$ 44). Children below a height of 1m are charged Dhs. 125 (US$ 34). In addition, Dhs. 20 (US$ 5.50) is applicable if a towel or locker is rented. One of the perks for people residing at Jumeirah Beach Hotel or Burj Al Arab is free access to the Wild Wadi Water Park.

Once inside the theme park, one can go on all the rides. Rubber floats and lifejackets are also provided. The water park has 90 lifeguards on duty. Wild Wadi offers thrills, chills and fun. It's the perfect place to unwind, sit back and have a blasting time. It definitely lives up to its catchword phrase ‘Wet! It's wild! It's Wild Wadi - the wildest water park ever!’

Dubai Museum

Dubai Museum

Structure

The Al Fahidi Fort, which is presently the site of Dubai Museum, was mainly built of coral and shell. The walls are built of these corals and shells cemented with lime. The ceiling is made up of palm leaf and branch, mud and plaster. Wooden poles, which are known as ‘handel’, support the upper floor. In the entrance, there is a massive iron door.

Timings

Visiting hours are from 8:30am to 8:30pm (Saturday to Thursday) and 2:30pm to 8:30pm (Friday).

Attraction

The Dubai museum is one of the most attractive tourist places. It is a show house of the past cultural richness of Dubai. At the entrance, the tourists can encompass the old maps of the Gulf and the Emirates and the photographs that exhibit the urban expansion from the period of 1960 to 1980. There are the Arabian sailing boats, old weapons, pearl diving outfits and a range of military artifacts. Colorful, life size dioramas, sets of pearls, merchants’ weighing scales, and a variety of other things are exhibited for the tourists and general mass. The curved deadly daggers known as ‘hanjars’ along with spears, swords, bows and arrows are displayed in the museum; they give evidence of the bloodshed that once occurred in the Arabian Peninsula. There is an old complete grave from the Al Qusais archaeological site, which is more than 3,000 years old. Musical instruments like drums, flutes, lyres, and bagpipes made of goatskin are also a part of the exhibition. A variety of wind tower models are also displayed there. The museum also contains a multimedia interactive show that will take you to the past. It is one of the most interesting features that you will enjoy. A gift shop selling souvenirs of traditional Arab crafts is one more attraction for the visitors.

The Dubai museum is a collection of artifacts that witness the social, economic and professional lives of the Arabs in the past centuries. With other interesting sights of Dubai, the museum too is a place that demands a visit. Another place of interest exhibiting an equally interesting collection of local boats can be seen at Narish Khyma, situated close to the Dubai Museum.