ABU DHABI, 29th September, 2026 (WAM) -- Waleed Saeed Al Awadhi, Chief Executive Officer of the UAE Capital Market Authority (CMA), said the UAE has consolidated its position as a global destination for capital, demonstrating its ability to provide a safe and attractive investment environment over both the short and long term.
He attributed this to the resilience of the UAE economy, the development of its legislative and regulatory framework and its ability to respond effectively to changing conditions.
Speaking during a fireside chat titled “From Resilience to Competitiveness: How the UAE Is Building Markets Investors Can Trust” on the opening day of the AFCM Annual Conference – Abu Dhabi 2026, Al Awadhi said the UAE has implemented a series of measures to enhance its competitiveness while maintaining regulatory frameworks aligned with global standards.
He said global capital has become increasingly sophisticated in identifying and pricing risks, while companies and financial institutions routinely conduct stress tests to assess their exposure to major potential risks.
Al Awadhi said meetings he held in recent months with asset managers, banks and financial institutions in Hong Kong, India and other global markets had revealed a shift in investors’ perceptions of geopolitical risk in the region.
Investors, he explained, have become better able to identify the nature of such risks and incorporate them into investment pricing, rather than treating geopolitical risk as a broad factor without accurately assessing its potential investment impact.
He noted that the region recorded healthy capital inflows over the past month, while investors have also become increasingly selective.
The diversity of the UAE market across sectors including real estate, energy and others, he said, provides capital with a broad range of products and investment opportunities.
Al Awadhi stressed that capital-market resilience, from a regulator’s perspective, does not depend on a single factor but on an integrated ecosystem encompassing how regulators respond to economic events and other developments, investors’ access to reliable information, continued trading and transparency.
“Transparency is an essential component of that ecosystem,” he said, alongside accurate information and the market’s ability to continue functioning during periods of stress.
He said recent developments in the region represented unprecedented circumstances for both the region and the UAE, prompting the CMA, in coordination with the markets, to adopt what he described as “out-of-the-box” measures suited to market needs.
On balancing capital attraction with investor protection, Al Awadhi said the CMA seeks to act as an **enabling regulator**, describing this approach as the future of regulation.
He stressed that regulatory reform should not be a one-off exercise, but a continuous process undertaken periodically to keep pace with changes in the economy and financial markets.
Al Awadhi said the CMA continuously works to eliminate regulatory “blind spots” by leading innovation in financial services, with legislation developed through ongoing consultation with Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Dubai Financial Market and market participants.
This approach, he explained, is increasingly important as the sector evolves rapidly and non-traditional financial instruments emerge, while the CMA’s jurisdiction extends to financial instruments and products traded or sold within its regulatory remit.
He said close cooperation with the industry had helped develop an advanced regulatory framework for virtual assets, their classifications and service providers, enabling innovation while protecting investors and preserving market integrity.
The CMA issued its comprehensive Virtual Assets Framework in April 2026.
Al Awadhi added that the Authority also works closely with regulators in the UAE’s financial free zones.
He said regulatory predictability is another central pillar of effective supervision.
“When we conduct regulatory roadshows in global markets, we begin by meeting our peer regulators, followed by asset managers, companies and banks,” he said, explaining that the aim is to give the international investment community greater visibility into the regulatory direction and legislation expected in the coming period.
The same approach is applied domestically through dialogue with markets and industry participants on their requirements and the changes needed to strengthen competitiveness, followed by regular stakeholder consultations.
Al Awadhi said greater regulatory clarity and predictability, combined with flexibility and the appropriate regulatory mindset, support economic development.
“A regulator that operates in isolation from the market and does not know what is happening within it will not be able to keep pace with its needs,” he said.
He added that the CMA had chosen to implement reforms gradually and carefully through consultation with market participants.
On international cooperation, Al Awadhi stressed the importance of bilateral and multilateral relationships among regulators, saying that building economic bridges with major global markets can help increase capital flows and support more international listings in the UAE.