Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince charmed by BSE

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, visited the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai on Friday, the concluding day of his three-day visit to India.

The BSE, which was established in 1875, is Asia's oldest stock exchange and the world's fastest stock exchange with a median trade speed of 6 microseconds. There are more than 5,500 companies publicly listed on the stock exchange.

Sheikh Mohamed was received by Ashish Kumar Chauhan, chief executive officer of BSE, and a number of senior Indian economists.

During the visit, Sheikh Mohamed was accompanied by H H Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, H H Lt General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, H H Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, a number of ministers, businesspersons and economists.

Sheikh Mohamed met with chief executives of leading firms and a number of businesspersons at the International Convention Hall. He had talks with them about the economic, trade, investment between the United Arab Emirates and India.

Sheikh Mohamed said that economic relations are witnessing remarkable growth in the two countries. He expressed the wish that ties would witness an increasing pace in the future in the light of the joint positive potentials and multiple opportunities in the two countries.

In his statement, Chauhan welcomed Sheikh Mohamed, noting that the UAE-Indian relations date back to hundreds of years and the UAE is one of the biggest trade and investment partners with India.

He also pointed out the initiatives launched by the UAE to promote economic, trade, and environment protection, citing the interest of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in the knowledge-based economy.

He added that the UAE is the 10th largest foreign investor in India with investments ranging over $3 billion, while India represents the third-largest foreign investor in the UAE.

Chauhan spoke about BSE's achievements, saying that it is now the fastest in the world where the market could deal with more than 500,000 companies in one second.

He noted that the value of listed companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange amounted to $1.4 trillion, and added that the BSE is the largest stock exchange in the world today in terms of number of listed companies which amounted to about 5,400.

Sheikh Mohamed rang the ceremonial gong at the BSE to mark the closing of BSE trading for the day. He received a souvenir from the BSE chief executive and watched a short film about the market, date of establishment, which was founded in 1875 and development stages as well as its role in the economic activity in Mumbai.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) presented a Green Certificate to Sheikh Mohamed on the occasion of planting 25 trees after his name in the Sundarbans delta in West Bengal.

For their part, businesspersons, and economic officials expressed their happiness at the level of relations between the UAE and India. They also expressed their appreciation at the visit of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to India, which came in the framework of the relations between the two countries, particularly in the economic and investment areas.

Later, Sheikh Mohamed toured IT technology Department and was briefed by BSE's officials on the adopted electronic systems and mechanism of work as well as and the listed companies' performance.

During the visit, Sheikh Mohamed was accompanied by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, Saqr bin Ghobash Saeed Ghobash, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation, Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Deputy Secretary General of the National Security Council, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority, Dr. Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Banna, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of India, Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Under-Secretary of the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and a number of senior state officials.