"The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dubai Development and Investment authority (DDIA), to develop the Middle East's first commodity future exchange in the Emirate. The NYMEX and the DDIA agreed to "jointly explore, in the coming months, the development of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME)”, the chairman of the authority Mohammad Al Gergawi said."