(16 January 2019) Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) announced that it is now a Partner Exchange of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative. Joining the SSE is a voluntary commitment made by the exchange to promote sustainability and transparency in capital markets.

Commenting on the development H.E. Khalifa Salem Al Mansouri, Acting Chief Executive of ADX said: “To help solve global sustainable development challenges the UN is increasingly looking to the private sector, and stock exchanges are well positioned to play a crucial role in facilitating more sustainable markets. This is the reason we are delighted to join the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative to work alongside several leading exchanges to encourage long-term thinking, as well as integrate sustainable development into investment and financial products. Sustainability is no longer merely a government responsibility – it requires concerted effort from all stakeholders to achieve sustainable development and economic growth.”

H.E. Khalifa Salem Al Mansouri affirmed the exchange’s commitment to bolster the local market by adopting sustainability practices that will attract new segments of investors who are keen on sustainable development. Furthermore, this will help create positive environmental performance, enhanced social responsibility and adherence to corporate governance standards, which in turn will strengthen liquidity in the markets. He added: “As part of the next phase, the exchange will intensify its efforts to promote responsible investment and encourage constructive dialogue between investors and listed companies.”

This new partnership is in line with ADX’s strategy to create a sustainable trading environment and launch initiatives that encourage the business community to embrace sustainable development practices. The move also reaffirms the exchange’s commitment to spur long-term sustainable investment, as well as improved environmental, social and corporate governance disclosure, while enhancing performance among listed companies. This will ultimately enhance competitiveness in the market and attract responsible investments to the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

ADX was elected to be a member of the Sustainability Working Group (SWG) in the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), enabling the market to promote sustainability internally, as well as among its listed issuers and investors. This enables ADX to foster a sustainable economic and trading environment by deploying Environment, Social and Governance (ESG)-related initiatives.

Furthermore, ADX recently signed the ‘Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Declaration’, which was initiated by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as a united front to create positive economic, social and environmental impact and advocate sustainable finance and investments for the long-term growth of the UAE’s economy.