TITLE: United Arab Emirates Capital Market Authority Amends Technical Services Fees for Market Participants
BODY:
On July 23, 2026, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) of the United Arab Emirates amended its technical services fees through Chairman's Resolution No. (18/Chairman) of 2026. The resolution modifies the CMA's fee structure established under the previous Chairman's Resolution No. (32) of 2018, reflecting changes to the regulatory framework following the adoption of Federal Decree by Law No. (33) of 2025 Regarding the Regulation of Capital Market.
The CMA introduced new fees applicable to various market activities and services. These include a 75,000 United Arab Emirates dirham (AED) fee for approval of public offering prospectuses for shares of local public joint-stock companies and entities incorporated outside the state or in free zones; a 5,000 AED fee for approval of listing tradeable product contracts; a 30,000 AED fee for registration of capital increase shares for entities incorporated outside the state for listing purposes; and a 5,000 AED fee for requests to temporarily suspend a license, approval, or registration. The CMA also established new fees for credit rating activity licensing (5,000 AED), in-kind assets valuer registration for funds (2,000 AED plus 1,000 AED per entity evaluated annually), and amendments to public offering prospectuses (2,000 AED).
Simultaneously, the CMA repealed fifteen existing fees, including charges for address or branch location changes, promotional advertising campaign approvals, investment fund reviews, and various cancellation fees for licenses and registrations related to investment funds, Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), covered warrants, and financial products. The resolution comes into effect ten business days following its publication in the Official Gazette.