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The UAE Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is developing a plan to establish an Investor Protection Fund and implement new precautionary measures for exceptional market situations. These steps aim to strengthen investor confidence and expand participation in national capital markets.

According to Khalid Saeed Al Awadi, CEO of the CMA, the proposed measures also include improvements in complaint submission, appeal, and amicable settlement procedures.

Furthermore, the regulator is studying a model for retail and fractional sukuk, which will allow residents to access fixed-income investments using smaller amounts of money.

Al Awadi emphasized that protecting retail investors requires more than just regulatory compliance; it involves ensuring investors have access to reliable information, understanding the risks they are taking, and having effective channels to voice concerns if problems arise.

During the first nine months of 2026, the CMA conducted 224 investor awareness activities, including five special campaigns aimed at improving financial literacy and helping investors identify potential market risks.

In the same period, 88 new financial influencers were registered, bringing the total number of registered influencers to 198 by the end of September. The authority also compensated clients with approximately 1.2 billion dirhams.

Alongside investor education and compensation, the regulator is intensifying supervision over market misconduct, such as manipulation, insider trading, misleading financial disclosures, and investment fraud.

Al Awadi reported that the financial penalties imposed by the CMA in the first nine months of 2026 reached 12.9 million dirhams. The CMA uses a Unified Risk-Based Supervision system to assess licensed firms across areas such as financial stability, corporate governance, market conduct, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency. This approach allows for risk-based prioritization of supervision and earlier detection of potential compliance issues.

He added that the main goal is timely intervention, effective enforcement, and holding violators accountable, rather than simply increasing the number of fines imposed.

The CMA did not disclose the number of investigations or individual enforcement actions during the reporting period. Three main priorities for the authority in 2027 have been defined as investor protection, broader market access, and digital transformation.

In addition to the proposed Investor Protection Fund and additional precautionary measures, the regulator is advancing regulations concerning systemically important organizations, the separation of public joint-stock companies, and instant licensing. These draft provisions are expected to be finalized by the end of 2026.

In the technology sector, the CMA is simplifying licensing and regulatory services while exploring the application of artificial intelligence to enhance supervision, accelerate data processing, and enable earlier identification of emerging risks.

CMA is also working to create more opportunities for family businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to raise capital through capital markets without compromising governance and disclosure standards. It is developing resolutions to regulate private placements of securities by private joint-stock companies and free zone enterprises. The proposed measures will expand financing options for companies not yet ready for a public offering, subject to final approval and implementation.

In 2027, the authority also intends to review rules governing the issuance of securities and issuers, including foreign issuers, as well as the types and classes of securities that can be issued. The goal of this review is to identify ways to improve market access and meet diverse financing needs.

Al Awadi noted that for family businesses and SMEs, the objective is to provide appropriate pathways for capital market financing while ensuring companies are prepared for public ownership obligations.

South Africa expressed dissatisfaction with the recent demands imposed by the United States in the context of trade negotiations, even after Pretoria made concessions in response to Washington's announcement regarding the possible exclusion of the country from the African tariff-free trade program.

Parks Tau, South Africa's Minister of Trade, lamented that the United States introduced new issues at this time, stating that these were not considered during the negotiation process that began in 2025.

Jamieson Greer, White House representative for Trade (USTR), communicated Washington's intention to withdraw South Africa and Rwanda from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). According to the France-Presse agency (AFP), concerns include issues such as customs barriers, investment, rule of law, and political pluralism.

The USTR specified that the exclusion is due to allegations of corruption and threats to US national security or its foreign policy interests related to South Africa.

AGOA is a fundamental agreement that facilitates access for various African products to the North American market without customs duties, being of extreme importance to South Africa, considered the most industrialized economy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

On Thursday, South Africa had expressed the expectation that Washington would make a positive decision regarding the country's maintenance in the trade agreement between the United States and the African continent, but this hope did not materialize.

This Southern African country has been targeted by the government led by Donald Trump for months, which accuses the country of persecuting Afrikaners, descendants of white European colonists, since his return to power. Furthermore, there was a restriction on issuing entry visas to the United States.

The United States remains a vital trade partner for South Africa, with more than 600 American companies operating in the territory, generating approximately 134,600 jobs.

Sectors such as automotive and agriculture (especially citrus) are particularly impacted by AGOA. AFP reports that in 2025, Naamsa, the South African automotive industry association, estimated that there were 86,000 jobs directly linked to AGOA in the automotive sector and 125,000 if suppliers were included.