A special financial market-related investment contest, being telecast live on the CNBC Satellite TV channel, has ended its first year in great success. The program, dubbed “Mah’faza’, which literarily means (Portfolio), is being sponsored by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) as part of its financial market investment awareness campaign.
UAE national, Mubarak Al-Karbi, was the proud winner of the program’s 1st prize of AED100,000, following his splendid performance which saw him defeating his two adversaries in the final round of the contest which kick-started with 13 contestants at the preliminary stage.
Ahmed Nabil placed second in the contest to pocket the 2nd prize of AED30,000, while another UAE national, Ali Rashid, took home the 3rd prize of AED20,000. H.E. Mohammed Khalifa Al-Hadari, SCA’s Deputy CEO for Organizational and Support Service, distributed the prizes to the winners at the end of the final round.
H.E. Abdullah Al-Turifi, Chief Executive Officer of the SCA, expressed happiness on the success of the program in spreading awareness about the rules and regulations of trading on UAE financial market. He said the initiative was part of the SCA’s education and awareness programs through which the SCA seeks to boost the awareness of the general public about the skills of trading on the markets, the significance of playing by the rules of engagement on the market and the right way to make investment decisions, in a bid to entrench the right practices on the markets in a way that would reflect positively on the securities markets, in particular and on the national economy, in general.
“Since its establishment, the SCA remains committed to spreading awareness among financial market investors through various campaign programs using various direct mass communication tools in a various technical and educative forms to deliver the right messages to the various segments of the investment fraternity”, Al-Turifi added in a comment.
For his part, H.E. Mohammed Al-Hadari said, the program’s adoption of a new and creative form seeks to provide an educative and interactive platform for investors, particularly, the youth, who are keen in trading on UAE markets. “The program aims at providing the legal base for improving the level of investment culture of those doing business on the financial markets, including investors, brokers and financial analysts. It also focuses on educating the public, inside and outside the country, about the rules of engagement on the market and how to avoid mistakes being committed on the markets,” he explained, adding that contestants imitatively compete in trading on the market in the virtual program, which has no actual impact on the real markets.
He said the program electronically gather any mark scored by a contestant in making the right trading decisions and then issue a report to the panel which study the report technically and in accordance with the SCA’s laid down rules and regulations.
Also commenting on the event, Mr. Mohammed Burhan, General Manager of CNBC Arabia, expressed pride in the “Mah’faza” program, which he described as “unique” in economic and financial programs. He said the program combines investment education on the one hand and actual TV contest on the other, adding that the program is another milestone in CNBC Arabia’s policies and reflects his outfit’s commitment to engage in anything that would help disseminate investment awareness and the culture of good trading practices on the financial markets.
He praised the good collaboration between his outfit and the SCA, sponsor of the program. He said the collaboration reflects the SCA’s concerted efforts and regulatory role and the CNBC Arabia’s role as a leading media platform in business media in the Arab region, adding that the “Mah’faza” program has translated these objectives by boosting stock trading and the other sectors of the stock market, spurring active trading and discouraging the dependence on luck and rumors to make profit on the market.
The champion of the program, Mubarak Al-Karbi, said he was very enthusiast right from the beginning until he emerged winner following the safe and accurate trading steps he took throughout the virtual trading contest in which he managed his portfolio accurately, despite the tough challenge he received from his adversaries, adding that the “Mah’faza” program has transformed the outlook of business TV from the conventional outlook to a new one that is full of thrills and suspense.
In the “Mah’faza” contest, each contestant is giving a virtual amount of AED100,000 to set up an investment portfolio, made up of stocks of companies listed on UAE securities markets. The contestants buy and sell according to market forces, adhering strictly to the best international practices outlined by the SCA, while avoiding any violation of rules and regulations of the SCA and the competition.
Trading, which is done through a specially designed electronic platform, exclusively for CNBC Arabia, is subjected to the same rules and legislations being implemented on UAE markets. Although the trading condition and market figures being used in the program reflect the reality on the UAE markets, the trading of contestants in this virtual program has no effect at all on the actual market indicators.
At the end of every week the panel assess the performance of each of the contestants, which numbered 13 at the beginning, the one with the least score is then eliminated from the contest until the number dwindled to the three finalists, from which Al-Karbi emerged champion.
Members of the panel were Mohammed Ali Yasin, Investment Manager of CapM Investment, Hossam Al-Hussaini, Technical Analyst – CNBC Arabia and Khalid Al-Mahmoud, Director of SCA’s Department of Enforcement and Follow-up.