The Abu Dhabi
Securities Exchange - ADX
Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030
Interview with Tom Healy,
Former Chief Executive, ADX
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) has
witnessed remarkable developments in recent
years, hosting a steadily increasing number of
listed companies. However, as a primary platform
for financial activity in the Emirate, it is still in an
embryonic stage of development. For example, the
ADX remains highly concentrated, with a small
number of companies generating the majority of
the value traded and market capitalisation.
Former Chief Executive of the Irish Stock Exchange,
Tom Healy has come to the end of his two and a half
year tenure at the helm of the ADX. Although Abu
Dhabi’s reserves cushioned it from the worst effects
of the economic crisis, there were a number of sectors
of the economy which could not be protected, due
to their interconnectedness with the modern global
system. One necessary component of that, is of
course, the capital markets. Over 40% of the value of
the ADX was wiped clean off the board altogether in
2008. One of the things that Tom Healy, as CE of the
ADX throughout the period is pleased about, is that
the exchange maintained its integrity by staying open
throughout.
“There was pressure from some quarters to close the
exchange in order to mitigate the effects of the freefall we were seeing. In fairness to the powers that be
however, we were never asked to close the exchange and
we therefore maintained our international credibility.”
says Healy, “The Government never poured any
cash into the exchange – it ran on purely free market
principles throughout the duration of the correction.”
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