EFG Hermes UAE Moves Deeper Into ADX With Market-Making and Liquidity Services
EFG Hermes UAE is expanding beyond traditional brokerage on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, launching market-making and liquidity provision services that will give the firm a more active role in how listed securities trade throughout the day.
The company, part of EFG Hermes, will place buy and sell orders on selected ADX-listed securities in accordance with market rules and regulatory requirements, with the aim of improving liquidity, price availability and trade execution.
The move adds EFG Hermes UAE to ADX’s network of market makers at a time when the exchange is seeking to deepen trading activity alongside the expansion of its listed-company and investor base.
From Executing Trades to Supporting the Market
The significance of the expansion lies in the difference between conventional brokerage and market making.
A broker primarily executes transactions for clients. A market maker maintains an active presence on both sides of the market by continuously providing bids and offers for designated securities.
That can help narrow bid-ask spreads, make it easier for investors to enter or exit positions and improve price discovery, particularly in securities where trading activity can otherwise be uneven.
For listed companies, liquidity provision can also become increasingly important after an IPO, when attracting investors is only the first step and maintaining an active secondary market becomes the next challenge.
EFG Hermes UAE said the new services are designed to support that post-listing stage by helping companies maintain more consistent trading activity and potentially broaden their exposure to local, regional and international institutional investors.
Technology Becomes Critical to Market Making
Behind that process is a technology challenge that differs considerably from conventional brokerage.
Market-making systems must be capable of placing and adjusting orders continuously during trading hours while simultaneously managing positions, market exposure and risk.
Amr El Shamy, Head of Electronic Trading and Execution Services at EFG Hermes, said the business requires advanced technology infrastructure and a robust risk-management framework.
The firm has developed its electronic trading platform to support market-making operations on ADX, combining automated execution capabilities with the ability to maintain regular buy and sell orders.
That technology layer is particularly important as regional capital markets attract more institutional investors accustomed to deep liquidity and sophisticated electronic execution in global markets.
ADX Expands Its Market-Maker Network
Saqr Aslan, Chief Operating Officer of ADX, welcomed EFG Hermes UAE to the exchange’s market-maker network, highlighting the role such firms play in increasing liquidity, supporting trading activity and improving investor access to listed securities.
For ADX, expanding the number and capabilities of market makers can help address an important part of capital-market development that is sometimes overshadowed by IPO activity.
Bringing a company to market creates a listed security. Building sufficient liquidity around that security determines how efficiently it can subsequently be traded.
This becomes particularly relevant as Abu Dhabi continues to attract new listings and international institutional capital.
A Broader UAE Push for EFG Hermes
Ahmed Waly, Head of Brokerage at EFG Hermes, described the launch as another step in expanding the firm’s brokerage capabilities in the UAE.
The company intends to use market making and liquidity provision not only to increase trading activity but also to extend its relationship with listed companies beyond the point at which they enter the market.
Raymond Wassef, Head of Market Making and Liquidity Provision at EFG Hermes, said the firm's role will be to maintain a continuous presence on both sides of the market, supporting more stable trading conditions and improving investors’ ability to execute transactions.
The expansion fits into EFG Hermes’ wider regional capital-markets platform, which combines brokerage, research, market access and execution services.
But the ADX launch adds another layer to that model.
Instead of simply connecting investors with securities, EFG Hermes UAE will now participate directly in maintaining the liquidity infrastructure around those securities — making electronic trading technology, execution speed and risk management increasingly central to its business in Abu Dhabi.