ADGM FSRA issues enhancements to its Capital Markets Framework

ADGM FSRA completes significant enhancements to its capital markets framework to reinforce and secure its market-leading position in the MENA region

Wide-ranging changes covering securities, derivatives, commodities, benchmarks and virtual assets, further bolster ADGM’s innovative and progressive ecosystem. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) today announces significant enhancements to its capital markets framework, across spot commodities, securities, derivatives, benchmarks, environmental instruments and virtual assets that will further improve on its innovative and progressive regime and leadership in financial markets. Designed to reinforce and secure ADGM’s market-leading capital market ecosystem across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the wide-ranging changes were first proposed in March 2022 and received significant and widely supportive feedback from the industry and wider stakeholders. These changes enable allowing greater participation within primary and secondary markets while also ensuring ADGM market participants continue to operate in accordance with and under the protection of, the highest regulatory standards

The implementation of these changes is intended to significantly benefit markets-related activities, affecting Recognised Investment Exchanges, Recognised Clearing Houses, Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs), Organised Trading Facilities (OTFs), market intermediaries, Remote Bodies, Remote Members, Offerors/Issuers, Listed Entities, Reporting Entities, and Sponsors.

Alongside its innovative approach to virtual assets, ADGM has now implemented its regulatory framework for spot commodity and environmental instrument activities, making it the first international financial centre in the MENA region to do so. Another region-first inclusion in this framework highlights purpose-built offerings and listing rules relating to mining and petroleum companies. The FSRA has also strengthened its requirements in line with IOSCO and comparable jurisdictions in respect of capital raising requirements, continuous disclosure obligations, preference securities, and weighted voting rights. Outside the changes implemented across conventional financial services activities, MTFs/Custodians operating within ADGM are now able to seek approval from the FSRA to engage in Non-Fungible Token (NFT) activities. This continues to build on the globally leading position established by ADGM in 2018 when it established the first-of-its-kind comprehensive regulatory framework for virtual asset activities.