The ruler of Dubai had appointed Essa Kazim to the position of chairman of the bourse operator Dubai Financial Market. The promotion comes a month after appointing Kazim as the new governor of the tax free financial zone of the emirate.

The same was confirmed by a statement from the bourse. The statement did not clarify if a new appointee would replace Kazim in his governorship over the tax free financial zone.

The newest appointment comes after discussions on the merger between the Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange came to fore in a bid to re-energize the UAE market. Sources familiar with the proposal told  Reuters that both Abu Dhabi and Dubai had engaged the services of banks to advise them of the issue related to the planned merger.

Kazim takes the place of Abduljalil Yousuf Darwish as the new chairman of DFM. DFM is the only listed bourse operator in the Gulf region. It has become one of the best performing bourses for the year, with a benchmark market index of 80% year to date. DFM's own shares have increased in value by 127%.