- Winners of the competition honored as top 13 participants achieved a return of 8.6% on average and Sharjah University recognized as the most distinguished institution
- Jamal Al Khadhar: “Students’ enthusiasm as well as cooperation of educational institutions in the UAE and beyond play a pivotal role in achieving further success every year”
Dubai Financial Market (DFM) Annual Stock Game, the most popular educational initiative amongst school and university students in the UAE, has offered thousands of students the opportunity to demonstrate their promising talents in the field of securities investment. Many of the participants in the 13th round of the competition recorded significant returns, as the top 13 students achieved a return of 8.6% on average, whilst the DFM General Index decreased 1.3% during the same period.
The DFM has honored the winners as prizes, certificates of appreciation and trophies were distributed in the presence of Jamal Al Khadhar, Senior Vice President, Head of Human Resources and Strategic Planning Division, as well as representatives of the educational institutions.
Attracting 5723 students from schools and universities in the UAE and beyond, 77% up compared to the 2014, the competition has been held between April 21 and May 5. Thirty-Nine educational institutions have been represented in the competition, 6 of them for the first time and 3 are foreign including; Kingdom University from Bahrain, Nizwa University from Oman and Sarajevo University from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Each contestant has virtually received AED one million to buy and sell shares listed on DFM through its website, based on live prices during trading hours. Samer Tayseer Sabha from UAE University came first receiving a cash prize of AED 15,000 followed by Hussain Ibrahim Alkhalsn from the same institution and Abdulla Almaeeni from The Petroleum Institute who came second and third receiving a cash prize of AED 10,000 and AED 5,000 respectively. Additionally, all students from the fourth to the thirteen places received AED 1000 each. The total value of prizes amounted to AED 520,000 during the 13 rounds of this competition. Sharjah University recognized as the most distinguished institution with the highest number of students in the top 40 contestants.
Jamal Al Khadhar, Senior Vice President, Head of Human Resources and Strategic Planning Division, DFM said, “We are proud to see the DFM Stock Game gains significant success yearly. Undoubtedly, the participation of new educational institutions reinforces the competition’s ability to outreach a wider base within the educational community as this initiative is aimed at promoting investment culture amongst the younger generation, developing their skills as well as enabling them to link academic study with the reality of the financial markets. We would like to congratulate the winners who have demonstrated excellent capabilities and extend our sincere gratitude to all participants as their enthusiasm and the cooperation of educational institutions in the UAE and beyond played a pivotal role in achieving further success of this competition every year”.
The participating students and educational institutions praised the leading role of DFM Stock Game in promoting the investment awareness amongst the younger generation. Samer Tayseer, from UAE University and the first place winner said, “It was my pleasure to participate in the competition for my first time. It was a good experience as I developed my abilities in this field. Finally, I would like to thank the DFM stock game organizers for giving us the chance to participate in a very well organized game.”
“I would like to thank DFM as well as AUE for giving us the chance to take part in the stock game which helped us to know a lot about the stock market”, Helal Mohamed ALazdi from American University in the Emirates said.
First time participants have prised the competition as well. Abdulla Almaeeni from The Petroleum Institute and third place winner said, “As a first time participant, I’m extremely delighted with winning the second place. The stock game was very useful in educating us about the stock market in general. I learnt that the market requires patience and to thoroughly keep your eye on it.”
