Sheikh Maktoum launches xCube in Dubai to boost financial activities in 2022
27 January 2022 – Gulf News – www.gulfnews.com
Dubai: Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, on Wednesday launched xCube. The new entity will organise and facilitate the activities of market maker companies in the Dubai Financial Market
xCube was launched to increase the size of DFM to Dh3 trillion and strengthen Dubai’s financial activity in 2022.
Essa Kazim was appointed chairman of the Board of Directors of XCube. Arif Amiri, Saeed Al Awar, Hind bint Mohammed Bin Kharbash and Jacques Visser have been appointed as board members
WHAT IS XCUBE?
xCube plans to develop and adopt state-of-the-art algorithms and technology to perform market making activities and high-frequency trading on both cash equities and derivatives listed on local markets.
“Both retail investors and institutional investors will benefit from the improved spreads and the lower volatility that often results from market makers playing an active role in markets,” said Essa Kazim, Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre and Chairman of the Board of xCube. “By bringing the latest technologies and know-how in market making to the local markets, we anticipate renewed interest from investors both locally and globally.”
xCube aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the financial markets in Dubai, and to attract more capital and investors from inside and outside the country. The market maker fund also seeks to invest in promising stocks and hedge risks, which in turn leads to enhancing the confidence of investors and create a more dynamic equities market.
WHAT IS MARKET MARKER?
A market maker is an entity, company or an individual who decides the quotes to purchase or sell a financial instrument. Market makers provide the market with liquidity and depth while profiting from the difference in the bid-ask spread.
The most common example of a market maker is a brokerage firm that provides purchase and sale-related solutions for real estate investors. It plays a huge part in maintaining liquidity in the real estate market.
Last year, the Dubai Securities and Exchange Higher Committee had announced plans to launch 2 funds with a total value of Dh3 billion to boost trading on the stock markets and encourage small and medium companies to list in the Dubai financial markets.
