Abu dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Virtu Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VIRT) have announced the launch of the POSIT® block-trading indications network for equity securities listed on the ADX. This initiative marks a significant development in facilitating large transactions on the exchange.
According to Emirates News Agency, the launch follows ADX's recent enhancements to its Negotiated Block Trade facility, which now offers exchange members increased flexibility for executing large transactions on-platform. Virtu Financial is the pioneering firm to utilize this upgraded facility to carry out electronic block trades through the POSIT system.
Trades under this new system will settle on a T+2 basis via the Abu Dhabi Central Securities Depository, aligning with the standard ADX trade settlement cycle. For companies that are not direct members of ADX, connectivity, brokerage, and post-trade services will be provided by Arqaam Capital, which is Virtu's regional partner.
This launch represents the initial phase of Virtu's POSIT facilitating block-trading indications for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) equity securities. The facility offers ADX members and their institutional clients access to Virtu's established global network, enabling sourcing of block liquidity in ADX-listed securities with minimal market impact and information leakage.
Abdulla Salem Alnuaimi, Group Chief Executive Officer of the ADX Group, stated, "Abu Dhabi's capital markets are evolving rapidly. By welcoming Virtu's POSIT technology to ADX, we provide institutions seeking large trades direct access to new liquidity opportunities in our market. With Virtu as our infrastructure partner, we continue to deepen our global institutional participation and build up our liquidity pool, while preserving the integrity of price discovery on our public order book."
Rob Boardman, CEO of Virtu Execution Services, EMEA, commented, "Extending the POSIT technologies to ADX-listed securities further enhances the appeal and accessibility of Abu Dhabi's equity capital markets to institutional investors globally. The innovation and assistance provided by ADX and our local partner Arqaam Capital were critical to the success of the project."
Sumeet Akewar, Head of Electronic Trading at Arqaam Capital, added, "Arqaam has always been committed to bringing innovative trading technologies to the GCC. The launch of POSIT, beginning with ADX in partnership with Virtu, reflects our commitment to advancing the region's electronic trading ecosystem and providing institutional investors with world-class trading solutions."