- Number of participants up 35% and returns exceeded the DFM General Index performance
- Participants praise the leading role of the competition in promoting the investment awareness amongst the younger generation
Dubai Financial Market (DFM) today announced the conclusion of its 12th Annual Stock Game, the most popular educational initiative amongst school and university students in the UAE, aiming at fostering the new generation’s investment culture.
The top 13 participants achieved a return of 12.3% on average during the competition, whilst the DFM General Index was up 6.8% during the same period.
Prizes, certificates of appreciation and trophies were distributed during the closing ceremony in the presence of Hassan Abdulrahman Al Serkal, Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer, Head of Operations Division and Jamal Ibrahim Al Khadhar, Senior Vice President, Head of Human Resources and Strategic Planning Division, along with other representatives of DFM’s senior management and the educational institutions.
The number of participants in the 12th round has increased 35% compared to the 2013 competition to 3233 students from 40 schools and universities in the UAE and beyond. 8 foreign educational institutions from outside the UAE are taking part, 4 of them are for the first time namely; The Kingdom University from Bahrain, The German-Jordanian University from Jordan, Indira Institute of Management from India and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from the United States.
The previous 11 rounds of the competition have attracted 19227 of participants representing 268 educational institutions.
Each participant receives AED 1 million to virtually buy and sell shares listed on DFM through its website, based on live prices during trading hours.
Mohammed Saleh Al Dhefairi, American University won the first place, snatching a cash prize of AED 15,000 followed by Ahmad Tayseer, University of Sharjah Ahmed Masood AlShehhi from American University in the Emirates and who came second and third receiving a cash prize of AED 10,000 and AED 5,000 respectively. Additionally, all students from the fourth to the thirteen places received AED 1000 each. The total value of prizes amounted to AED 470,000 during the 12 rounds of this competition.
Educational institutions have shown strong enthusiasm to participate in the competition, particularly Dubai Men College, which received a special trophy as the ‘Best Educational Institution’ with the highest number of participants amongst the top 30 participants.
Jamal Ibrahim Al Khadhar, Senior Vice President, Head of Human Resources and Strategic Planning Division, DFM said:“This competition is DFM’s response to the ever evolving need to spread the investment culture amongst the younger generation and develop the skills of students as one of the main pillars for human resources development in the UAE.”
“Evidently, the stock game exceeds being a virtual competition as it is aims to educate the students about DFM key trading regulations as well as further enhance knowledge of financial concepts as part of the preparation to start their career or business journey benefiting from the workshops and presentations we concurrently organize along with the competition. In the near future, we will further develop the competition to achieve the utmost benefit for the entire society” Al Khadhar added.
The participating students and educational institutions praised the leading role of DFM Stock Game in promoting the investment awareness amongst the younger generation. Mohammed Saleh Al Dhefairi from American University in the Emirates and first place winner said: “I would like to thank AUE University for helping us to bridge the gap between theory and practice and my special thanks goes to Dr. Nizar Sahawneh who supported me morally and technically. I also thank the senior management for giving us the opportunity to participate in the DFM Stock Game. I encourage students to participate in such game as it combines learning, excitement, competition and fun.”
Second place winner Ahmad Tayseer from University of Sharjah, said: “It was a pleasure to participate in such a competition organized by the DFM annually, and I am so happy to be amongst the winners. The game was so challenging, and helped me to improve my skills regarding buying, selling and predicting the next move for each stock. Such competition is very beneficial for us and I want to thank DFM for offering us this opportunity.”
“I’m so happy to be amongst the winners of the stock game. I learned many things that enhanced my ability to buy and sell shares and analyze the data.” Ahmed Masood AlShehhi from American University in the Emirates who came third said.