Dubai’s stock exchange eyes $17 trillion private credit market

Dubai’s stock exchange is dipping its toes into the $1.7 trillion private credit market with a new platform it says would make it easier for local companies to raise such debt.

Dubai Financial Market will also allow venture capital firms to sell the shares of private companies they own on the new platform, which will be known as Arena, according to a statement. Arena will operate on technology provided by Nasdaq Inc.

Middle East sovereign wealth funds from Mubadala Investment Co. to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have joined investors around the world in piling into the burgeoning market for private credit.

Still, the United Arab Emirates has largely remained a market that’s dominated by bank loans.

With Dubai Financial Market’s latest offering, that could soon change, according to the exchange’s Chief Executive Officer Hamed Ali.

“It enables investors to easily access private investments in the UAE’s most promising companies and brands,” Ali said in the statement.