Oxford Business Group talks exclusively to Tom Healy, CEO, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange

In an exclusive interview with Oxford Business Group (OBG), the global publishing, research and consultancy firm, Tom Healy said that Abu Dhabi's strong fundamentals ensured that the country was a sound investment option, particularly for large foreign institutions looking for high growth in emerging markets.

Healy said that many observers believed these strong fundamentals would help the ADX recover quickly when the world markets begin to pick up, which should bring in the investors who were exploring emerging markets before the downturn.

"Prior to the global financial crisis, many international investors were searching for alternative investments and in doing so, increasingly looked towards emerging markets," he said. "The emirate's history is therefore very strong, but the level of awareness in many of the major financial centres, such as London or New York, is not as high as we would like it to be."

The interview will feature in The Report: Abu Dhabi 2009, the most comprehensive and accurate review of the country's economy available, which is soon to be published by OBG. Rated as the premier source of information for foreign direct investment into the country's economy, it will be a vital guide to the many facets of Abu Dhabi, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, political landscape, banking and sectoral developments.

The Report: Abu Dhabi 2009 has been produced by a team of OBG analysts based in Abu Dhabi who conducted some two hundred interviews with leading political and economic figures. Healy is one of the leading figures interviewed in The Report: Abu Dhabi 2009, where the full version of his interview will appear.

Healy believes that the capital which Abu Dhabi boasts could be used to its advantage when looking to persuade companies to make a secondary listing in a foreign market.

"It is not common for a company to look for a secondary listing in a foreign market unless that market is large and liquid," he admitted. "But Abu Dhabi can be seen as an exception to the rule because of the capital available. Therefore, we think that the listing of exchange-traded funds could help the companies realise this."

He acknowledged that it was proving difficult to persuade listed companies in the region to open up to foreign investment due to the fact that investors from abroad were being blamed for the fall in the Gulf's stock markets. Healy describes this as unfortunate, saying the viewpoint stems from a misunderstanding of the root causes of the global financial downturn.

"I believe the main reason for the drop in these markets was the lack of banking liquidity, when, for a time, the stock exchange was the only source of cash for investors in immediate need," he said.

Available in print form and online, The Report: Abu Dhabi 2009, will be part of the range of OBG's publications renowned as leading sources of information on developing and emerging economies around the world.