ABU DHABI — The UAE is positioning itself not merely as a taker of global financial rules but as an increasingly active participant in shaping them, according to Waleed Saeed Al Awadhi, chief executive of the Capital Market Authority, who said the country’s model combines legislative adaptability with firm supervisory oversight as markets become more complex.
His remarks come at a moment of institutional change for the UAE’s securities regime. The country’s long-standing Securities and Commodities Authority was replaced from 1 January 2026 by the Capital Market Authority under a new federal decree-law, giving the regulator broader autonomy, executive and supervisory powers, and an expanded mandate aimed at market integrity, investor protection and international competitiveness.
Al Awadhi’s comments also carry added weight because of his standing in international regulation. He has been reappointed to chair the Africa and Middle East Regional Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions for the 2026–2028 term, reinforcing the UAE’s role in conversations that feed into global standards on capital markets supervision, cross-border cooperation and emerging financial risks.
That combination of domestic reform and global representation is central to the UAE’s pitch. Rather than relying only on its status as a regional financial hub, the country is seeking to demonstrate that it can help write the regulatory playbook as well. Al Awadhi said the UAE’s approach is built on balancing market development with safeguards, an argument that aligns with broader efforts by Gulf financial centres to attract issuers, fund managers and international investors while avoiding the perception that innovation is being allowed to outrun supervision.
The legal overhaul backing that message is substantial. The new framework establishes the Capital Market Authority as a federal public authority with financial and administrative independence, replacing the previous regulator as its legal successor. The law sets out objectives that go beyond routine market oversight, including developing the capital market, promoting fair competition, protecting investors, supporting the economy and advancing the state’s standing as an internationally reputable financial centre. It also gives the authority powers to issue rules, inspect supervised entities, address systemic risk and impose administrative sanctions or refer matters to judicial authorities where needed.
For market participants, the reforms matter because they suggest a regulatory perimeter that is widening alongside the sophistication of the market itself. Legal specialists who have reviewed the new framework say the old structure no longer fully matched the scale or complexity of present-day capital markets, particularly as product ranges broadened, liquidity deepened and cross-border activity increased. The new regime is meant to respond to those pressures by creating a more modern architecture for supervision and enforcement.
Al Awadhi indicated that 2026 will bring further rulemaking in targeted areas, including frameworks for certain securities trading platforms and collective investment schemes. That points to a push to diversify investment tools and widen options for market users at a time when competition for listings, fund domiciliation and capital flows is intensifying across the Gulf. The UAE has been trying to capture a larger share of those flows through a mix of policy reform, infrastructure upgrades and regulatory cooperation with overseas counterparts.
Another strand of the agenda is governance around artificial intelligence in finance. Al Awadhi said the authority is working on arrangements for the use of AI in the sector, underscoring how regulators are being drawn into questions that range from market surveillance and consumer protection to model risk and accountability. International standard setters have been paying closer attention to technology-related vulnerabilities, including the risks tied to automation, data governance and the possibility of new forms of misconduct or market distortion.
The regulator is also preparing public whistleblowing programmes, including incentive mechanisms, in a sign that enforcement policy may become more assertive. Such tools have long been associated with tougher detection of insider trading, fraud and disclosure breaches in some other jurisdictions. Their introduction in the UAE would be watched closely by compliance teams, listed companies and intermediaries because it could sharpen both internal controls and the consequences of weak governance.
Those developments come as the UAE continues to deepen ties with foreign regulators. Early this year, the Capital Market Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission to strengthen supervisory cooperation on regulated activities and information-sharing. Moves of that kind are important for a market that wants to be seen as open, connected and credible to international institutions.
His remarks come at a moment of institutional change for the UAE’s securities regime. The country’s long-standing Securities and Commodities Authority was replaced from 1 January 2026 by the Capital Market Authority under a new federal decree-law, giving the regulator broader autonomy, executive and supervisory powers, and an expanded mandate aimed at market integrity, investor protection and international competitiveness.
Al Awadhi’s comments also carry added weight because of his standing in international regulation. He has been reappointed to chair the Africa and Middle East Regional Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions for the 2026–2028 term, reinforcing the UAE’s role in conversations that feed into global standards on capital markets supervision, cross-border cooperation and emerging financial risks.
That combination of domestic reform and global representation is central to the UAE’s pitch. Rather than relying only on its status as a regional financial hub, the country is seeking to demonstrate that it can help write the regulatory playbook as well. Al Awadhi said the UAE’s approach is built on balancing market development with safeguards, an argument that aligns with broader efforts by Gulf financial centres to attract issuers, fund managers and international investors while avoiding the perception that innovation is being allowed to outrun supervision.
The legal overhaul backing that message is substantial. The new framework establishes the Capital Market Authority as a federal public authority with financial and administrative independence, replacing the previous regulator as its legal successor. The law sets out objectives that go beyond routine market oversight, including developing the capital market, promoting fair competition, protecting investors, supporting the economy and advancing the state’s standing as an internationally reputable financial centre. It also gives the authority powers to issue rules, inspect supervised entities, address systemic risk and impose administrative sanctions or refer matters to judicial authorities where needed.
For market participants, the reforms matter because they suggest a regulatory perimeter that is widening alongside the sophistication of the market itself. Legal specialists who have reviewed the new framework say the old structure no longer fully matched the scale or complexity of present-day capital markets, particularly as product ranges broadened, liquidity deepened and cross-border activity increased. The new regime is meant to respond to those pressures by creating a more modern architecture for supervision and enforcement.
Al Awadhi indicated that 2026 will bring further rulemaking in targeted areas, including frameworks for certain securities trading platforms and collective investment schemes. That points to a push to diversify investment tools and widen options for market users at a time when competition for listings, fund domiciliation and capital flows is intensifying across the Gulf. The UAE has been trying to capture a larger share of those flows through a mix of policy reform, infrastructure upgrades and regulatory cooperation with overseas counterparts.
Another strand of the agenda is governance around artificial intelligence in finance. Al Awadhi said the authority is working on arrangements for the use of AI in the sector, underscoring how regulators are being drawn into questions that range from market surveillance and consumer protection to model risk and accountability. International standard setters have been paying closer attention to technology-related vulnerabilities, including the risks tied to automation, data governance and the possibility of new forms of misconduct or market distortion.
The regulator is also preparing public whistleblowing programmes, including incentive mechanisms, in a sign that enforcement policy may become more assertive. Such tools have long been associated with tougher detection of insider trading, fraud and disclosure breaches in some other jurisdictions. Their introduction in the UAE would be watched closely by compliance teams, listed companies and intermediaries because it could sharpen both internal controls and the consequences of weak governance.
Those developments come as the UAE continues to deepen ties with foreign regulators. Early this year, the Capital Market Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission to strengthen supervisory cooperation on regulated activities and information-sharing. Moves of that kind are important for a market that wants to be seen as open, connected and credible to international institutions.
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