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The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) have signed an agreement to cooperate on Fintech innovation. The two public entities said the agreement will further strengthen the efforts of both authorities to develop an innovation-friendly ecosystem and regulatory environment. This continues a trend by both countries to ink bilateral relationships to boost emerging technology within the financial sector. The agreement was signed in Hong Kong by DFSA chief executive Ian Johnston and Ashley Alder, chief executive of the SFC. This step follows the introduction of regulations formalising a tailored regime for loan and investment crowdfunding platforms earlier this month. It also follows the launch of the FinTech Hive at DIFC and its Innovation Testing Licence (ITL).

United Arab Emirates (UAE) regulators are setting out to establish a framework to guide the small business (SMB) crowdfunding market. Reports noted that regulators are aiming to promote innovation and a broadening of small business activity. Equity crowdfunding is expected to provide $93 billion to small- and medium-sized enterprises by 2020, reports added. In the UAE, SMBs stand to gain significantly from that trend, as these businesses make up an estimated 85% of all UAE companies. In Dubai, that number is even higher, at nearly 95% of all businesses. Meanwhile, research from the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development found that as many as 70% of small business loan applications in the UAE are rejected by traditional banks. Ian Johnston, Chief Executive of the Dubai International Financial Services Authority (DFSA), said the DFSA was the first in the GCC region to formalize a tailored regime for loan and investment crowdfunding platforms, which represent an important source of financing for the SME sector.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) successfully organised a Joint Seminar themed "The Role of Sukuk and Securitisation to Support New Financial Regulations". Ian Johnston, Chief Executive of the DFSA welcomed the IFSB and the Joint Seminar’s participants. He discussed the need for the industry to think laterally to address the shortage of liquidity management tools at Islamic institutions. The panel offered insight into sukuk instruments and the Islamic capital market developments. A panelist mentioned that there is expected to be 70bn USD of new issuance during 2017; however this is not enough to keep up with the projected growth of the Islamic finance industry. To resolve the impediments, the industry needs more standardisation in terms of legal documentation and Shariah interpretations. The Joint Seminar ended with the panel emphasising the need for liquidity generation initiatives to be supported at the regulatory and government levels.