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Dubai Financial Market (DFM) organized its second interactive workshop titled, “Achieving Good Investor Relations and Corporate Governance” on Tuesday, May 8th 2012 at The Address Hotel, Downtown Dubai. This initiative is the latest of DFM’s continuous efforts to further promote the adoption of international best practices amongst its listed companies as well as potential issuers and encourages greater interaction between these companies and the investment community.
The event was organized in association with the Middle East Investor Relations
Society (ME-IRS), and brought together senior delegates from listed companies, private and family businesses, advisors and analysts to discuss the latest techniques and effective strategies in Investor Relations and Corporate Governance. Over 140 delegates representing 80 companies attended the workshop.
Essa Kazim, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of DFM inaugurated the workshop with the participation of high level speakers and panelists including Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Al Maktoum, Chairman of SHUAA Capital, Paul Reynolds, Managing Director, Rothschild Bank and Chairman of ME-IR Society, Nasser Saidi, Chief Economist and Head of External Relations at the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, Jan Bladen, Chief Operating Officer of the DFSA, Ryan Leymand, Senior Economic Advisor, Head of Risk Management, Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), Basil Moftah, Managing Director MEA and Russia, Thomson Reuters, in addition to a number of leading capital market advisors and participants.
During the event, DFM also launched its “Guide to Investor Relations”, a first of its kind initiative at a regional level. The guide collates a wealth of expertise from several multinational Investor Relations and Public Relations advisors, in addition to the invaluable experience of investment banks in this field.
The guide is aimed to offer practical assistance to companies by exploring best practices and key principles that should be taken into consideration when building an IR program. This guide is particularly useful for management teams of private companies who are considering a flotation and companies which are already listed looking to further enhance their investor relations.
The DFM second Investor Relations Workshop covered a number of key topics including effective IR strategies for key stages of the company lifecycle, practical steps to achieving good Cooperate Governance and what makes Middle Easterncompanies attractive to investors and analysts. The event also included a case study from DP World on Corporate Governance.
Commenting on this Essa Kazim said: “Since its inception, DFM has always been committed to encouraging its listed companies as well as potential issuers to embrace international IR best practices as a top priority, through various DFM initiatives such as the DFM International Investor roadshows organized for its listed companies to attract international investors since 2007 and strategic partnerships with various reputable institutions, with the aim of driving best practices. Through its various educational events and guides, DFM has actively encouraged companies to further understand their shareholders and interact with them through available applications from international advisors as well as DFM’s recently created value added services, and we would also like to see the IR function mandatory for listed companies. We are confident that our efforts will further reinforce Dubai as a centre of excellence in this part of the world and enhance its leading position as a powerful capital market hub which embraces international best practices to meet the evolving needs of its investors locally and internationally”, Essa Kazim added.
Paul Reynolds, Chairman of the ME-IR Society said: “Thanks to the various initiatives led by DFM such as the IR Workshop and the new IR Guide, we recognize solid progression in terms of following international best practice, disclosure and transparency. IR as a strategic function is gaining more momentum as investors continue to reward consistent commitment to best practices in IR, both in good and challenging times alike.”
