The Dubai Financial Services Authority has announced that a total of 50 companies have been licensed for the period from January 1 to June 30, 2023, increasing the total number of licensed companies to 630 by the end of June 2023. 43% compared to the same period last year when 35 companies got their licenses.

The market for bonds listed at the Dubai International Financial Center continues to grow, as there are currently a total of 169 bonds listed on the official list with a value of $112.5 billion and listed for trading on Nasdaq Dubai, where there are 18 bonds. Listed at $8.7 billion by 2023. This includes:

● 2 sukuk related to governance, social and environmental responsibility “with a value of $1.5 billion”.

● 2 bonds related to governance, social and environmental responsibility “with a value of $ 1.0 billion”.

● 4 carbon neutral bonds “worth $2.2 billion”.

● 4 UAE treasury bonds «treasury bonds» 0.55 billion dirhams per bond.

● 2 federal government sukuk with a value of 0.55 billion dirhams per sukuk, marking the first issuance of sukuk under the federal government sukuk scheme.

Environmental Management and Responsibility

There has also been a strong increase in the listing of bonds and sukuk related to social and environmental governance and liability issues.

In the first half of 2023, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Sydney Branch) issued $345 million in carbon neutral bonds as a new issuer of bonds and sukuk related to governance, social and environmental responsibility issues. Bonds and sukuk listings related to governance issues grew, and CSR increased steadily year-on-year, reaching $22.3 billion through foreign banks, sovereign issuers and UAE export companies.

Diversity of providers

The diversity of bond and sukuk issuers continued to grow in the first half of 2023, and the period saw the introduction of a new issuer based in Australia, and the Ministry of Finance listing four bonds worth AED 2.2 billion.

Bus Adventures

The first six months of 2023 have been full of achievements and successes for the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the number of license applications in 2022 has continued into 2023 and we are seeing interest from companies,” said CEO Ian Johnston. UAE and international companies operating in the finance, wealth and advisory sector. As well as innovative companies looking to take advantage of our cryptocurrency system.

He added: “We see established financial institutions in the Dubai International Financial Center looking to achieve greater growth and enhance their presence and operations in the centre. The Financial Center is a global business hub and the attraction of the Emirate of Dubai to live and work.

He explained: At the beginning of January, we published our business plan outlining our key areas for the next two years, and one of these areas of focus as we look for a regulator is to ensure our continued engagement with companies. We are always working to create opportunities to achieve this, clearly and transparently, within our regulatory and wider financial services sector in the UAE and globally, and with other stakeholders.

In April, he pointed out, we held a webinar on cryptocurrencies explaining our approach to regulating this market, and in early May, during the Dubai Financial Technology Summit, DFSA staff organized a two-day regulatory session inside the pavilion of the DIFC Authority. Global, Summit attendees were able to tour the area, informally inquire with our staff about regulatory compliance at the Center, and speak to members of various departments of authority about aspects of our regulatory framework. Finally in May, our Oversight Committee held an annual communication session for licensees. This is the first day-long in-person networking session since 2018.

He said: The event will include side sessions on our strategy, our supervisory approach and recent developments related to our policy work, banking and insurance services, doing business, financial crimes, risk assessments, topical reviews, licensing, cyber risks. , and the Innovation Test Licensing Program. The event was attended by representatives of licensed companies and representatives of legal and consulting firms in the Dubai International Financial Center.

In early June, we launched an engagement survey to seek feedback from companies and stakeholders on how to improve our engagement with our regulated entities, and we will analyze the results of this survey to improve our engagement where necessary. To increase this engagement, host more events during the rest of the year.

COP

He pointed out: As part of our work to support sustainability efforts in the UAE in the run-up to the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties, we have taken additional steps to raise awareness among market participants about risks. Greenwashing and the potential impact of risks on capital flows needed to support the UAE’s transition, April, Market Brief no. 27, which sets out guidance on ESG-related disclosures for issuers and reporting entities in the DIFC. , Dubai has been a leading listing center for lending in the Middle East.

Nasdaq Dubai, based in the Dubai International Financial Center, is the world’s largest market for sukuk on environmental and social responsibility issues. This represents 72% of governance, social and environmental responsibility-related sukuk denominated in US dollars and 56% of sukuk denominated in all currencies in the world. We look forward to sharing more updates on governance, social responsibility and environmental issues ahead of the COP.

Notice Duty

All Authorized Firms, Authorized Members and Authorized Market Firms must immediately notify the DFSA of any order or transaction they suspect may abuse the market through transaction reports and suspicious orders, and the Authority encourages reporting firms as issuers of securities. Reports suspicious transactions and orders on a voluntary basis.

In the first half of 2023, 15 reports of suspicious transactions and orders were submitted, 12% of which were mainly related to CFDs. There were 6 individual bond-related core values ​​from 5 jurisdictions. Also, 9 reports of suspicious transactions and orders were referred to international regulators. New guidance on best practices for securities related to governance, social and environmental responsibility issues.

As the demand for investments related to social and environmental governance and environmental responsibility issues increases, concerns about the risks of greenwashing have increased. , evaluated and classified according to various methods and requirements.

Securities regulators, including the Dubai Financial Services Authority, have set disclosure requirements to ensure investors have access to the information they need to make an informed investment decision. Information was provided to issuers and reporting entities on disclosure requirements for prospectuses and related ongoing disclosure obligations when considering issues related to governance, social and environmental responsibility and climate change.