CMA Decision No. 5/Chairman of 2023 · UAE Federal
Regulates registration of securities with the Authority as a precondition for listing: registration, renewal and term, effects of registration, deregistration, fees, grievances and administrative penalties.
Decision No. 5/Chairman of 2023 makes registration with the Authority, now the Capital Market Authority (CMA), a precondition for listing any security on a UAE onshore securities market. It applies to local and foreign securities and to securities issued in a free zone that are to be listed (Article 1). It was issued on 16 January 2023 and came into effect the day after publication in the Official Gazette (Article 12), with share listing renewals for 2023 still handled under the old listing fee decisions and the new registration renewal regime applying from 2024. It revoked Decision No. 18 of 2002 on PJSC listing fees and Decision No. 11 of 2014 on private joint stock company listing and trading fees once the 2023 renewals were complete. It is in force without amendment.
Article 2 provides that securities may be listed only after registration with the CMA on its registration form; the CMA may require the application to come through a licensed listing adviser and decides within ten working days, giving reasons for a refusal but keeping discretion to refuse in the public interest. Registration lasts until 31 December each year; annual renewal applies only to listed local and foreign shares and fund units, with first-year fees charged pro rata by month, and renewal of registration replaces the old listing renewal date (Article 3). Existing listings were transferred into the CMA's securities registration record (Article 4).
Registration allows a security to be listed but is not an approval or recommendation of the offering or listing, and fees are not refunded if a market refuses to list (Article 5). The issuer, or the legal representative of a foreign fund, must apply to the market within five working days of registration or renewal or the registration lapses, and the registration conditions must continue to be met while listed. When delisting is sought, the issuer must tell the CMA immediately and apply to cancel registration once the market approves, and the cancellation is published (Article 6). Fees are those set by the CMA (Article 7). Breaches can lead to a warning, a fine of up to AED 100,000, cancellation of the approval, or suspension or cancellation of registration (Article 10).
Issuers of local, foreign and free zone securities seeking listing on a UAE onshore securities market, legal representatives of foreign funds whose units are listed, licensed listing advisers who file registration applications, and the markets that list them.
English official text in 12 articles. Open the full text or jump to a provision:
| Article 1 | Applies to registration of local and foreign securities and of securities issued in a free zone, for the purpose of listing on the market. |
| Article 2 | Securities may be listed only after registration with the Authority; the Authority may require a licensed listing adviser and decides within ten working days, with reasons for refusal. |
| Article 3 | Annual renewal applies to listed shares and fund units; registration runs to the end of each December, first-year fees are pro rata with part-months counted as full months. |
| Article 5 | Registration permits listing but is not approval or recommendation; the issuer must apply to the market within five working days or the registration is void; fees are not refunded if the market refuses. |
| Article 6 | Issuers must notify the Authority immediately of delisting applications and apply to cancel registration on market approval; cancellation follows delisting and is published. |
| Article 10 | Penalties for violations: warning, fine of up to AED 100,000, cancellation of the registration approval, or suspension or cancellation of registration. |
| Article 12 | Takes effect the day after publication; 2023 share listing renewals continue under the old fee decisions, which are revoked once the 2023 renewals are complete. |
Article 10 allows the CMA to issue a warning, impose a fine of up to AED 100,000, cancel the approval issued for registration, or suspend or cancel the registration. Under Article 5 a registration lapses if the issuer does not apply to the market within five working days, and registration fees are not refunded if the market refuses the listing.
We see this decision at the end of a listing project and in the yearly compliance calendar of clients whose companies or funds are listed onshore: registration renews every December and the five-working-day deadline to apply to the market is easy to miss. Polaris is not licensed by the CMA and does not act as listing adviser. For issuer clients, including free zone companies, we keep the corporate approvals, constitutional documents and registers ready for the listing adviser's filing, diary the annual renewal, and keep UBO, AML and tax filings consistent with the listed entity's disclosures.
| Cites | Former Listing of Securities Regulations · Commercial Companies Law · Former SCA Law |
“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.
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