Book an appointment with us, or search the directory to find the right lawyer for you directly through the app.
Find out moreWe are excited to share the latest edition of the Law Update, beautifully and appropriately titled “Sustainable Horizons: The Saudi Arabian Vision.” Giving special honor to the Kingdom’s 2030 vision, this update focuses on a collection of both informative and inspiring articles.
For those in construction, you can learn about how the tendering environment impacts risk-pricing for contractors, the updates on the legal framework of the construction industry and how contractors can protect themselves against financial difficulties.
There is good news too from the kingdom’s banking sector, from which the practice of “Open Banking” is being pushed for! But what is open banking? We’re answering that too.
Also . . . Are there any women trail blazers in Saudi Arabia you can name? We’ll help you with that. We cover how the Middle East has been making strides in empowering women in the entrepreneurial space,most notably in STEM fields.
Read the full editionOn 1 April 2020, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (the “DFSA”) amended its Markets Rulebook (“MKT”) and other relevant sections of its Rulebook Modules to provide for a simplified and streamlined regime for Small or Medium-sized Enterprises (“SME”) to access equity capital markets in, or from, the Dubai International Financial Centre (“DIFC”).
The purpose of the amendments is to particularly address the route by which SMEs can apply to have their shares admitted to the DFSA’s Official List of Securities and therefore, encouraging SMEs to list on Nasdaq Dubai. The amendments provide appropriate and proportionate regulatory standards to match the smaller size of SMEs, whilst at the same time providing adequate levels of investor protection.
The amended regulations recognise the importance of SMEs to the UAE economy and should allow SMEs easier and less costly access to equity financing.
An entity applying to admit its shares to the DFSA’s Official List of Securities will be classified as an SME if the aggregate market value of the shares it is applying to list is reasonably expected to be less than US$250 million in value.
An entity that has already had its shares admitted to the DFSA’s Official List of Securities will be classified as an SME if the aggregate market value of its shares when admitted was less than US$250 million and the average market value of its listed shares has not exceeded US$500 million for 90 consecutive days. In the event that the aggregate market value of an SME’s listed shares exceeds US$500 million for 90 consecutive days an entity will lose its SME status.
The eligibility requirements for listing set out in MKT have been amended for SMEs so as to be proportionate to the nature, scale and resources of SMEs. Examples of the changes that have been made to MKT and the different eligibility rules that apply to SMEs are as follows:
The DFSA has amended the ongoing post-listing requirements for SMEs in MKT. Most of these amendments particularly relate to the expectation that the corporate governance of an SME may be less sophisticated than that of larger listed entities and therefore certain additional requirements are in place to protect investors. These include:
Andrew Tarbuck
Partner, Head of Capital Markets
a.tarbuck@tamimi.com
Anna Robinson
Senior Associate, Corporate Commercial
a.robinson@tamimi.com
To learn more about our services and get the latest legal insights from across the Middle East and North Africa region, click on the link below.