DUBAI – The Financial Services Association UAE (FSA-UAE), a non-profit trade body for the financial services sector, has devised a five-year strategy designed to improve the efficiency of the financial services sector in the UAE.



The five-year “roadmap” was developed following a series of seminars with various market participants. Local and international financial services firms and banks provided insights and input during the discussions leading to the final development of the roadmap.



The association identified growth bottlenecks as well as opportunities for enhancing the country’s financial services industry. The resulting plan focuses on the following key areas:



• Capital Markets: Proposals for upgrading regulations governing capital markets. The roadmap sets out ways to improve investor access as well as proposals for increasing volumes and liquidity.



• Pension and Gratuity Schemes: The development of pension and gratuity schemes using a phased approach. These will provide a steady flow of liquidity to the capital markets and feed other areas of development in the financial services industry.



• Regulations: A harmonized approach towards the development of industry regulations across the UAE in order to create a comparable regulatory framework with other, more developed, markets.



• Best Practices: Enhancing professional standards in the industry by advocating minimum relevant qualifications and certifications and the development of voluntary codes of conduct among industry practitioners.



The association’s co-founder Arwa Hamdieh said: “Assembling the roadmap is the first step on a journey to improve the efficiency of the UAE’s financial services sector. The association’s mission is to help bring the UAE market closer to international best practice by facilitating constructive dialogue between the regulators and the financial services industry. – SG