Registration with the Dubai Stock Exchange

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) is the main stock exchange in the Emirate and it was founded at the end of March, 2000. The second most important stock exchange is NASDAQ which is located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), one of the Emirate’s most prolific free zones. Foreign investors setting up companies in Dubai can choose to raise capital through the DFM or NASDAQ provided that the they meet the listing requirements and they register with one of the stock exchanges in Dubai.

Our company formation consultants in Dubai can help you register a company in the Emirate.

Dubai Stock Exchange’s listing requirements

Before submitting the Initial Public Offering (IPO) with the DFM’s authority, one must know that only joint stock companies can register with the Dubai Stock Exchange as the company must issue financial instruments that can be publicly traded. The following instruments can be traded on the Dubai Financial Market:

• -          equities;
• -          investment funds;
• -          fixed income;
• -          securities.

Each of the above instruments are divided into subcategories and will be subject to different requirements.

The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) is the authority all joint stock companies first must register with in order to list their shares or other instruments on the Dubai Stock Exchange. The minimum share capital for a company to trade on the DFM is 25 million AED.

Documents required to register with the Dubai Stock Exchange

Dubai companies wanting to register with the Stock Exchange in Dubai must submit the following documents with the SCA:

• -          a prescribed application form;
• -          a receipt showing the registration fee has been paid;
• -          the Memorandum and Articles of Association amended as required by the Dubai Company Law;
• -          a copy of the company’s certificate of registration;
• -          a letter confirming the shareholders’ rights over the shares;
• -          a report on the status of the company.

The report must contain information about the management board members, the company’s relation with other companies and if it has subsidiaries or branch offices, how much of the company’s capital is owned by foreign shareholders (if any). The applicant must also submit the company’s financial statements for the last two years.

For complete information about all documents required when registering with the Dubai Stock Exchange, please contact our Dubai company registration representatives.