Dr. Obaid Saif Al Zaabi
"SCA" continues the march of accomplishments at the legislative, organizational and international relations levels
On the occasion of the State celebration of forty-eighth national day, Dr. Obaid Saif Al Zaabi, CEO of the Securities and Commodities Authority, conveyed the highest congratulations to the wise leadership of the State headed by His Highness/Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State (May Allah preserve him) and his brother, His Highness/ Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President of the State, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai (May Allah preserve him), Highnesses/ the rulers of the Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Highnesses/ the Crown Princes and Deputy Rulers.
Dr. Obaid Al-Zaabi stated that 2019 witnessed continuous efforts to strengthen the legislative framework for the State financial markets by issuing a set of new regulations and decisions, including the activity of a public clearing member, the solvency standards of the investment manager and the management company, the controls of the real estate investment fund and its amendments, and evaluation of the in-kind shares of the investment funds. Both the cryptoasset regulation and the new version of the corporate governance regulation are being prepared and are expected to be issued soon.
He added that, the year also witnessed the start of applying the system for identifying losing companies on trading indicators in the financial markets according to the mechanism included in the SCA’s decision if the accumulated losses of the company reach 20% or more of its capital. The decision included a plan to address the accumulated losses and related procedures.
Furthermore, a sustainable capital markets plan was launched, which is based on designing an appropriate financial regulatory framework that guides the conduct of financial industry partners and stakeholders in a way that achieves the desired results and encourages sustainable and green investment, which contributes to providing new effective ways to obtain the necessary financing for sustainable projects.
During the year, a road map was lunched to start the financial inclusion strategy in the State financial markets, which would encourage the involvement of more segments of society (such as women, youth, owners of small, medium and micro enterprises, and low-income people) in obtaining financial services and choosing financial tools and products appropriate to their needs, through investment awareness programs and providing the necessary financial information to deal with financial service providers.
The SCA also launched the new SCA system of electronic services, which enables customers to benefit quickly and easily from the services of the SCA electronically, such as licensing services for services and securities companies, along with dispensing of any paperwork.
In addition, the SCA has implemented the "Smart Consultant" application to provide the auditors with answers regarding the SCA’s systems. The project is divided into four main points that include legislation, legal consultancy, communication with the SCA and FAQ.
Moreover, 2019 witnessed the licensing of the first separate clearing service company, as well as another depository service company in the Dubai Financial Market, according to the regulations previously issued by the SCA in this regard, in the context of the SCA’s efforts to convert the State financial markets to the horizontal pattern instead of the vertical pattern, within the framework of the SRO financial market model.
In terms of the SCA’s international relations, 2019 witnessed intense activity, whether through the CEO’s participation in his capacity as the vice-chair of IOSCO in the organization’s meetings, or participation in the meetings of the Financial Markets Authority’s committees in the Gulf Cooperation Council or the committee of the board chairpersons of financial markets authorities in the GCC, as well as the activities of the Union of Arab Securities Authorities, and cooperation with the International Financial Stability Board “IFSB” to organize a seminar on sukuk, and other activities and achievements.