The Arab World’s 16 active stock markets’ combined market capitalization in the fourth quarter of 2010 amounted to substantially more than $900 billion, confirming that Middle East and North African (MENA) equity markets are an increasingly important force in regional economic development. The performance was not all sunny, however. Market indices for member institutions of the Union of Arab Stock Exchanges (UASE) at the end of 2010 were visibly below their more optimistic days almost three years ago. Eagerness for listing companies has also dropped. New initial public offerings and trading debuts have been rare. Although, or perhaps because, performance of Arab equities has been marred by the global financial crisis of 2008, the macroeconomic relevance of financial markets has become a topic demanding increasing attention. Arab stock exchange operators have been feeling the need to do more than their bread-and-butter business of running trading rooms and electronic platforms
