H.E. Dr. Maryam Butti Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), discussed with Dr. Mohammed Omran, Chairman of Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), at a meeting in the SCA’s Dubai office building, ways to foster mutual cooperation between the two authorities, promote the ongoing development of mechanisms regulating non-banking financial activities, and enhance the sharing of knowledge and expertise.
Following the meeting, Dr. Al Suwaidi praised the bilateral relations between the two authorities and said that the meeting “dealt with several matters related to the financial sector, including regulating, improving, and monitoring the proper functioning of capital markets, in addition to other matters revolving around sustainable finance and development, the promotion of gender equality, the creation of non-banking financial products and services that suit the needs of different customers, the establishment of procedures for licensing securities activities and other procedures for inspecting and overseeing listed companies, the dissemination of information, the promotion of financial literacy and investor awareness, and the protection of the rights of participants in the securities markets”.
“The discussions concluded that it was important for the planned MoU to include terms aimed at enhancing cooperation in the matters referred to earlier, thus helping to develop the oversight systems and mechanisms established by both authorities and raise their efficiency in line with the best international practices.”
Dr. Omran, for his part, congratulated Dr. Al Suwaidi for being the first female to serve as the SCA’s Chief Executive Officer and the first woman to hold such position in the GCC region, explaining that “2020 was a year in which the FRA focused its attention on women and sustainability to support the continuity of this trend towards empowering women; enhancing gender balance; eliminating gender discrimination among market participants; and bringing about justice, fairness, and equality between genders at all trading phases.”
The visit was made on the sideline of Dr. Omran’s participation in a conference held by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates last week under the title “The Future of Finance” in the presence of representatives from the world’s major financial institutions, senior government officials and academics from across the world, and financial industry experts to discuss key issues facing modern finance in the post-coronavirus world.
It is notable that the year 2000 represented a qualitative leap in the development of the country’s securities sector. It was when the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan passed Federal Law No. (4) of 2000 Establishing the Securities and Commodities Authority, and since then the SCA has been continually striving to strengthen the securities and commodities markets at the legislative, supervisory, and regulatory levels based on scientific and professional foundations and in line with the best international standards in this field.
Once established, the SCA started licensing and regulating financial markets and consolidating its position locally, regionally, and internationally. It is a legal entity that enjoys financial and administrative autonomy and has all the executive and supervisory powers necessary to discharge its functions in line with the provisions of this law and the regulations issued thereunder.